Ascent Group LLC Boosts Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,416 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Private Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in Novartis by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.70.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $115.03 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $235.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.18.

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

Novartis 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.