Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 114.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 742 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $90,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in Novartis by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 3,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 11,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $130.48 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $133.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.37. The company has a market capitalization of $275.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus 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.