283 Shares in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Purchased by Richardson Financial Services Inc.

Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Private Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the first quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $116.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $237.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.36. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. 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 issued 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. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.70.

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.