Optas LLC Has $409,000 Stake in Novartis AG $NVS

Optas LLC decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,379 shares of the company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NVS. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Tsfg LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 366.0% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 66.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 1.0%

NVS opened at $131.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $133.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $124.85 and its 200 day moving average is $117.72.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.