Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Reduces Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 52.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,722 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,625 shares during the quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock worth $194,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,950 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company's stock worth $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,990,000 after buying an additional 52,044 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company's stock worth $107,986,000 after buying an additional 26,317 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Novartis by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company's stock worth $90,289,000 after buying an additional 123,077 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $111.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,770,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,074,565. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $103.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $228.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

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

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.