Hantz Financial Services Inc. Has $1.54 Million Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 503.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $104.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $100.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.50.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis 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.