Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 5,186 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 15.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,963 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,186 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 366.0% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in Novartis during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $130.31 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $133.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $125.62 and a 200-day moving average of $118.16.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.