Cullen Investment Group LTD. Reduces Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Novartis by 782.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 0.1 %

Novartis stock opened at $99.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $101.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. 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 quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 EPS. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on NVS. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

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.