Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,025 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 11.1% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at about $295,000. Perennial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.1% during the first quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC now owns 42,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,686,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Novartis by 2.4% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $132.41 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $123.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.24. 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 $133.37. The company has a market capitalization of $279.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.Novartis’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis 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.