Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Acquired by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,127 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,276 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Novartis by 782.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 1.4 %

NVS stock opened at $97.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.12. The stock has a market cap of $199.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

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.