Versant Capital Management Inc Grows Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 782.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 785 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $76,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.8% during the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in Novartis by 4.4% in the third quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.3% in the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.8% during the third quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NVS. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $97.64 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $199.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $102.70 and its 200 day moving average is $109.48.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current 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.