Legacy Investment Solutions LLC Invests $28,000 in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 3.4% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 4.8% during the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.3% during the 2nd 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NVS shares. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE NVS opened at $101.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $109.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.30.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

About Novartis

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.