Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 4,865 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,898 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,865 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $13,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS traded up $1.24 on Wednesday, hitting $103.08. 628,325 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,628,370. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business's fifty day moving average is $100.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.57. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis 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.

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