Naviter Wealth LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,831 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Novartis makes up approximately 0.8% of Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $202,771,000 after buying an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 53.7% in the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,661,000 after buying an additional 371,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,003,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.13.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $1.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $119.00. 441,296 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,406,657. The company’s 50 day moving average is $111.79 and its 200 day moving average is $104.08. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.48 earnings per share 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.