Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 454 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 18.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,944 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 149.3% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE NVS opened at $103.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.00. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS 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.