Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Has $1.46 Million Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc trimmed its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 448 shares during the quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. FLC Capital Advisors lifted its stake in Novartis by 4.4% during the third quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $99.34 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.13 and a 200-day moving average of $109.19. The company has a market capitalization of $203.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

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

Novartis 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.