Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Holdings Decreased by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,610 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,176,000 after purchasing an additional 111,066 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 16,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 6,369 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 129.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 98,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,560,000 after acquiring an additional 55,581 shares during the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Novartis by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 77,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,569,000 after acquiring an additional 3,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TigerOak Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $301,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded 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 issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:NVS opened at $119.34 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $252.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $111.84 and its 200-day moving average is $107.09.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

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.