Nilsine Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Nilsine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,789 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Novartis by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,127,000 after buying an additional 6,767 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter valued at $15,044,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 180,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,485,000 after acquiring an additional 11,080 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Novartis by 314.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 55,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,563,000 after purchasing an additional 41,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,968,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE NVS traded up $0.47 on Friday, hitting $120.89. 902,659 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,020,458. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.19 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $111.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.89.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced 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 business had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.