Daymark Wealth Partners LLC Buys 1,056 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,877 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,056 shares during the quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Novartis by 1.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,767 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth $15,044,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 180,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,485,000 after buying an additional 11,080 shares during the period. Integral Health Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,938,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter worth $2,968,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $115.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.53 and its 200-day moving average is $106.93.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

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.