Compass Wealth Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Compass Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 86.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,454 shares during the quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 102.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after buying an additional 11,444 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter valued at about $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 48.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $152.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $321.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $137.06 and a 200 day moving average of $129.08. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $97.71 and a 52 week high of $152.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Barclays upgraded Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Novartis Company 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.