Essex Financial Services Inc. Buys 2,154 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,401 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Essex LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Essex LLC now owns 2,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.13.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NVS opened at $120.89 on Monday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.93. The stock has a market cap of $247.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.48 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.