Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Buys 3,431 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,531 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,431 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises 1.6% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $31,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.1% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in Novartis by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 0.1 %

NVS opened at $109.06 on Monday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $102.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.00. The company has a market cap of $222.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current 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.