Boston Financial Mangement LLC Acquires 1,027 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,072 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $883,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $107.26 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $219.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $101.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.