Appleton Partners Inc. MA raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,788 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,778 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Novartis AG were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Park National raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Park National now owns 250,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,529,000 after buying an additional 4,747 shares during the period. EisnerAmper Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. EisnerAmper Wealth Management now owns 14,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. EQIS Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG by 313.1% in the fourth quarter. EQIS Capital Management now owns 12,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 9,462 shares during the period. Osborn Rohs Williams & Donohoe raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Osborn Rohs Williams & Donohoe now owns 72,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,197,000 after buying an additional 1,655 shares during the period. Finally, Lawrence B. Cohen raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Lawrence B. Cohen now owns 5,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period.

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) opened at 77.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.99 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $83.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.93. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $75.64 and a 12 month high of $106.84.

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. The business earned $12.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Novartis AG’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post $5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Investment Research lowered Novartis AG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Novartis AG from $123.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Main First Bank AG lowered Novartis AG to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Vontobel lowered Novartis AG to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.25.

Novartis AG is a holding company that, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in development, manufacturing and marketing of a range of healthcare products led by pharmaceuticals around the world. Its portfolio includes medicines, eye care, generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines and over-the-counter (NYSE:NVS) products. The Company’s segments include Pharmaceuticals, which include patent-protected prescription medicines; Alcon, which include surgical, ophthalmic pharmaceutical and vision care products; Sandoz, which include generic pharmaceuticals, and Consumer Health, which includes the OTC Division. Pharmaceuticals products include Afinitor/Votubia, Exjade, Galvus, Exforge and Voltaren, among others. Its Sandoz products include Valsartan (Diovan), Cyclophosphamide injection and AirFluSal Forspiro, among others. Its OTC offers readily available consumer medicine. The Company operates Admune Therapeutics as a wholly owned subsidiary.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:NVS

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