Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Purchases 118 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,993 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Novartis by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 38,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,968,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 14.0% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 30.9% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 311,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,777,000 after buying an additional 73,564 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 13,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,371,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 17,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,773,000 after acquiring an additional 2,731 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.13.

Novartis Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $106.78 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $108.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.63 and a 200-day moving average of $101.34. The company has a market capitalization of $218.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Company 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.