HB Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,357 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,064 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Essex Savings Bank increased its stake in Novartis by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 2,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.6%

NVS opened at $130.94 on Friday. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $131.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $276.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $123.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.33.

Novartis Company 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.