Novartis AG $NVS Position Decreased by Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 601,912 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,868 shares during the period. Novartis makes up approximately 3.8% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $82,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 39.0% in the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 15,950.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $153.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $112.34 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.51 and a 200 day moving average of $148.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. Novartis’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Profile

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.