Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stake Trimmed by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,460 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,314 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $16,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $3.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $115.67. 2,448,684 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,593,378. The stock's fifty day moving average is $110.02 and its 200 day moving average is $106.10. The stock has a market cap of $244.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NVS. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.