Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Grows Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,131 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 503.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NVS. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $101.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.64. The company has a market cap of $208.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

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.