Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,426 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Novartis by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,746,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,264,000 after acquiring an additional 54,683 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 0.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,473,000 after purchasing an additional 16,015 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,523,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,082,000 after purchasing an additional 14,686 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its position in shares of Novartis by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,819,000 after purchasing an additional 590,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.13.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $120.89 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.08.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (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 company 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 business earned $1.83 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.48 earnings per share 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.