Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 5,150 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,116 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,150 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises about 1.1% of Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $16,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in Novartis by 93.0% during the 1st quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 425.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE NVS opened at $153.78 on Monday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $112.34 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $293.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.45.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.Novartis’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.