Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Reduces Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,312 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $109.73 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.08. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $224.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. 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.