FLC Capital Advisors Grows Position in Novartis AG $NVS

FLC Capital Advisors boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 27.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,286 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 700 shares during the quarter. FLC Capital Advisors’ holdings in Novartis were worth $398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Essex Savings Bank raised its position in Novartis by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 0.5%

NVS stock opened at $131.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $277.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.64. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $133.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $126.54 and a 200-day moving average of $118.62.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.