Grandfield & Dodd LLC Sells 7,470 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Grandfield & Dodd LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 155,348 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,470 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $21,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 39.0% during the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $150.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $149.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.74. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $111.06 and a 1-year high of $170.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

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.