Blue Trust Inc. Sells 4,046 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 36.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,086 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,046 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NVS. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Novartis by 128.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,554,000 after purchasing an additional 296,890 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,225,000 after buying an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,096,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Novartis in the third quarter worth about $21,078,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $107.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,885,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,942,435. The stock has a market cap of $219.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The business's 50-day moving average is $101.06 and its 200-day moving average is $108.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.