First City Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

First City Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,626 shares of the company’s stock after selling 735 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter worth $30,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter worth $35,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 0.6 %

NVS traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $97.69. The company had a trading volume of 939,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,001,630. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $103.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.53. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

About Novartis

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.