Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC Invests $821,000 in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $821,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its holdings in Novartis by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 3,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in Novartis by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $195,000. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Novartis by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $115.60 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $104.02 and its 200-day moving average is $107.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.