Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,109 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV raised its position in shares of Novartis by 172.2% in the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 313 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $123.92 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $133.55. The company has a market cap of $261.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $127.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.13.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The company had revenue of $13.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.33.

About Novartis

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.