Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,744,183 shares of the company’s stock after selling 205,464 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Novartis worth $378,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 39.0% during the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 15,950.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 321 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $148.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $112.34 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.26. The company has a market capitalization of $283.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. Novartis’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NVS. DZ Bank downgraded Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Argus upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

About Novartis

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.