Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Purchases 5,898 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2,949.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,098 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,898 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter worth approximately $534,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. IAM Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the first quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 13,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in Novartis by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 12,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,241,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

Novartis Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $117.18 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $116.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $239.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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.