Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Raises Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,749 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 60.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,660,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,071,000 after buying an additional 1,377,252 shares in the last quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 12,664.1% in the 1st quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 1,383,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372,407 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,606,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $959,535,000 after acquiring an additional 422,869 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at about $24,763,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 310,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,560,000 after acquiring an additional 86,351 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NVS stock opened at $131.29 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $127.04 and a 200 day moving average of $118.89. 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 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $133.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. 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 research report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.