Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Holdings Raised by Mezzasalma Advisors LLC

Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,901 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 503.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 280.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on NVS. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $106.17 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $100.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.41. The firm has a market cap of $217.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal 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.