Boston Common Asset Management LLC Has $15.26 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,774 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,399 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $15,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 280.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 704 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NVS. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $97.51. 1,483,597 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 958,711. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. The business's fifty day moving average is $100.61 and its 200 day moving average is $108.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Novartis

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.