Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Has $644,000 Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,619 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 521 shares during the quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 2.6 %

NVS opened at $106.95 on Friday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.28 and a 200-day moving average of $108.42. The stock has a market cap of $218.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.79%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

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.