Whipplewood Advisors LLC Makes New $146,000 Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $146,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $108.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.