Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Sells 696 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lowered its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 75,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 696 shares during the quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $7,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $106.95 on Friday. 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 AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.28 and a 200-day moving average of $108.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.79% and a net margin of 23.56%. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

About Novartis

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.