Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Acquires 1,084 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 13.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,444 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Novartis by 191.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after buying an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its position in Novartis by 53.7% during the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after acquiring an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its position in Novartis by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,819,000 after purchasing an additional 590,830 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its position in Novartis by 99.0% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,661,000 after buying an additional 371,590 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $32,003,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $120.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 253,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,415,153. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.49. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $120.67.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 company earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.13.

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.