Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,609 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 7,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $303,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 782.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $99.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. 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 $202.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.29.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.