Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Trims Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp decreased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,641 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 18,894 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after buying an additional 5,164 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 135.5% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after buying an additional 22,998 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 13.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,088,000 after buying an additional 18,990 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $111.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $228.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.98. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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.