Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC Sells 240 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 503.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 280.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $99.07. 1,223,990 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,359,361. The stock has a market cap of $202.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $101.76 and its 200-day moving average is $109.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis 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.