IFP Advisors Inc Grows Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,730 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,601,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its stake in Novartis by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 26,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after buying an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $110.78 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $102.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.98.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.