Simon Quick Advisors LLC Acquires 1,821 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,553 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter worth $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the first quarter worth $25,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter worth $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 66.0% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 82.4% in the second 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 last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Cfra set a $126.00 price objective on shares of Novartis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.33.

Novartis Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NVS opened at $123.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $127.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $133.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $13.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

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.