Concord Wealth Partners Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,596 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners’ holdings in Novartis were worth $193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essex Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,709,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NVS stock opened at $129.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $273.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.64. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $133.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.07.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Novartis 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.