Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Acquired by Portside Wealth Group LLC

Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,375 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares during the quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 73.5% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $106.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $217.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.