Harbor Asset Planning Inc. Invests $53,000 in Novartis AG $NVS

Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth $266,000. Cypress Capital Group grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 84.1% in the second quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 5,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 16.8% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 47,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 6,849 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth $1,909,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 8.9% in the second quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 33,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,076,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $130.54 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $133.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $126.24 and its 200-day moving average is $118.37. The company has a market capitalization of $275.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company 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 company earned $1.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price target (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Novartis 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.