Modera Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Modera Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Novartis by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,176,000 after buying an additional 111,066 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 9.0% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 13,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,335,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Novartis by 11.1% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,303,000 after buying an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.67.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $115.25 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.65. The company has a market cap of $243.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $124.83.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share 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.