Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 1,711 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Essex Savings Bank raised its stake in Novartis by 1.9% in the second quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 5.8% in the second quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 0.7% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 1.2% in the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $130.05 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $125.14 and a 200-day moving average of $117.96. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $133.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $274.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.