Sheets Smith Wealth Management Has $254,000 Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,625 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 33,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,338,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $111.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,791,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,466,594. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $228.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.06. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $112.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $11.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.13.

About Novartis

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.