First PREMIER Bank Acquires 320 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,410 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Novartis were worth $162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 1.4 %

NVS stock traded up $1.56 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $115.33. 134,772 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,357,615. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $235.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 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 $115.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.93.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.70.

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.