Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Garland Capital Management Inc.

Garland Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,505 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,655 shares during the period. Novartis makes up approximately 4.0% of Garland Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Garland Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 0.3%

NVS stock opened at $115.62 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $244.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $113.06 and its 200-day moving average is $107.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share 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.