West Oak Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,208 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 99.0% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,661,000 after purchasing an additional 371,590 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1,936.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 387,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,158,000 after acquiring an additional 368,778 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,003,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 6,599.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 149,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,084,000 after acquiring an additional 147,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 447,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 146,327 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $106.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,211,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,470,144. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $102.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.28. The firm has a market cap of $217.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $11.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.13.

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.