Novartis AG $NVS Position Boosted by Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,298 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,706 shares during the quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 5.8% during the second quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% during the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,709,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $132.35 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $133.55. The company has a market cap of $279.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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.