Novartis AG $NVS is Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Godsey & Gibb Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,572 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,512 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises 2.5% of Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $28,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its position in shares of Novartis by 425.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Argus upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings cut Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $153.42 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $112.34 and a 52 week high of $170.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $292.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.Novartis’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.