Private Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Private Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 27,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,696,000 after purchasing an additional 3,582 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 107,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 7,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $115.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $244.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.70% and a return on equity of 39.44%. Novartis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current 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.