Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,957 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 366.0% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 82.4% during the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NVS opened at $132.36 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $124.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.59. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $133.55. The stock has a market cap of $279.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.The company’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

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.