Timber Creek Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Timber Creek Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,368 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,603 shares during the period. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $4,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded up $0.90 on Friday, hitting $105.77. 679,724 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,174,519. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.58. 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 AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $110.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.23.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.66 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.