US Bancorp DE Buys 5,913 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 248,540 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,913 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Novartis were worth $24,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 1.8% in the third quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 1.1% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $109.06 on Monday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $222.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.