Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 3,840 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Ritholtz Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,473 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,840 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Novartis were worth $8,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 343.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company's stock worth $70,652,000 after buying an additional 509,567 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth about $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 15.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $22,979,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,483,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,600,863. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.98. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during 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 last year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated 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 issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.50.

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.