Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Puzo Michael J

Puzo Michael J trimmed its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 21.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,435 shares of the company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Puzo Michael J’s holdings in Novartis were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $116.37 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $245.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $112.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.79.

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