Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,266 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 746 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,303,000 after acquiring an additional 3,846 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $295,000. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $131.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $277.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $124.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $133.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on NVS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, September 12th. 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 research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.