Dunhill Financial LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Dunhill Financial LLC decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 30.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 460 shares of the company’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $51,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,183,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,372,000 after acquiring an additional 90,823 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 368,171 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,522,000 after purchasing an additional 399,862 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $109,739,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $116.37 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.70% and a return on equity of 39.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.