Novartis AG $NVS Stock Holdings Increased by Financial Advocates Investment Management

Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 84.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,278 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 13.2% in the second quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 49,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,975,000 after acquiring an additional 5,742 shares in the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter worth approximately $266,000. Cypress Capital Group lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,638 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Novartis by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 47,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,909,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $130.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $134.00. The company has a market cap of $275.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.30.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The company had revenue of $14.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. Novartis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. Bank of America upgraded Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, November 10th. Cfra set a $126.00 price objective on shares of Novartis and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.33.

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.