Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Curbstone Financial Management Corp

Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,256 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth $28,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 3.4 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $103.37 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.62 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.