Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,131 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,656 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $116.56. 110,693 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,341,920. The stock has a market cap of $238.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.19 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $116.20 and its 200 day moving average is $107.75.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America cut shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. 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 note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

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.