Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stake Lifted by FLC Capital Advisors

FLC Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,366 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. FLC Capital Advisors’ holdings in Novartis were worth $272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Private Ocean LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 73.5% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $116.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $238.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $120.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.69.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its 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. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed 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 report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

Novartis 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.