Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Sells 4,664 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 17.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,644 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,664 shares during the period. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 7.3% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 39,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,632,000 after purchasing an additional 2,697 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group increased its stake in Novartis by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 17,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,450,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,610,000 after buying an additional 1,696 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $163.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $311.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.24 and a 200-day moving average of $152.44. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $123.24 and a 52 week high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.53 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 41.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 9.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank decreased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $147.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $163.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.25.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG is a Swiss pharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative medicines. Its research and products address conditions in areas including oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular, renal and metabolic health. The company’s medicines include treatments such as Kisqali for certain breast cancers, Cosentyx for inflammatory diseases, Entresto for heart failure and Kesimpta for multiple sclerosis. Its portfolio also includes radioligand therapies and other specialized treatments.