Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 5,443 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 133,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,443 shares during the period. Novartis accounts for 2.4% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $17,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 66.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 82.4% in the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $145.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $306.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $135.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.31. Novartis AG has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $146.35.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.75.

About Novartis

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.