Capital Insight Partners LLC Invests $2.41 Million in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Capital Insight Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 22,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,408,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $118.56. 801,205 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,430,203. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $118.59.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.13.

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.