Park Square Financial Group LLC Buys New Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Novartis by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,183,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,372,000 after buying an additional 90,823 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,706,000 after acquiring an additional 368,171 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,522,000 after acquiring an additional 399,862 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the period. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,990,000 after purchasing an additional 52,044 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $112.47 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $237.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.01.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.