Financial & Tax Architects LLC Grows Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Financial & Tax Architects LLC grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,703 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the period. Financial & Tax Architects LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Novartis Trading Down 1.1 %

NVS opened at $115.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $236.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.73 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. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $113.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.21.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share 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.