Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Purchased by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,644 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,950 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 9.3% during the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 4.3% during the second quarter. Essex LLC now owns 2,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $118.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,621. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $118.79. The company has a market cap of $242.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.23.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.13.

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.