West Coast Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,460 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Novartis AG were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in Novartis AG by 1.0% in the second quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 1,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG by 0.9% in the second quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 3,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Kernodle & Katon Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG by 3.4% in the first quarter. Kernodle & Katon Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG by 2.4% in the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 2,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG by 4.6% in the second quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 11.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Novartis AG (NYSE NVS) opened at 84.99 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.36. The company has a market capitalization of $199.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03 and a beta of 0.73. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $66.93 and a 52-week high of $86.90.
Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.06. Novartis AG had a return on equity of 15.51% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $12.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post $4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.
NVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Investment Research raised Novartis AG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Novartis AG in a report on Tuesday, June 6th. Leerink Swann reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Novartis AG in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Credit Suisse Group cut Novartis AG from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $82.25 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 5th. Finally, J P Morgan Chase & Co reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis AG in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.71.
In related news, major shareholder Bioventures Ltd Novartis acquired 266,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $4,000,005.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company’s stock.
Novartis AG Company Profile
Novartis AG is a holding company, which provides healthcare solutions. The Company is engaged in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of a range of healthcare products led by pharmaceuticals. The Company’s segments include Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, Alcon and Corporate activities.
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