GAMMA Investing LLC Decreases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

GAMMA Investing LLC cut its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 413 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Novartis by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Novartis by 343.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,652,000 after buying an additional 509,567 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in Novartis by 10,528.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,511,000 after buying an additional 321,121 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,063,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $97.64 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $199.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $102.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.51. 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.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.