Leo Wealth LLC Has $907,000 Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Leo Wealth LLC cut its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,404 shares of the company’s stock after selling 578 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in Novartis by 480.0% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS traded down $1.09 on Friday, reaching $106.13. 1,683,181 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,482,626. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $216.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $112.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.17.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.13.

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.