Novartis AG $NVS Stake Increased by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,072 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,716 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $8,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its stake in Novartis by 425.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

Novartis Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $153.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.45. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $112.34 and a twelve month high of $170.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.32.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.