Daymark Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 10.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,821 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,544 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,767 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $15,044,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 6.5% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 180,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,485,000 after acquiring an additional 11,080 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Novartis by 314.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 55,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,563,000 after acquiring an additional 41,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integral Health Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,938,000 after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $115.61 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.80. The company has a market cap of $236.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.70.

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.