Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,855 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 29.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the first quarter worth approximately $613,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the first quarter worth approximately $722,000. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 67.7% in the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $130.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $125.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.16. 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 firm has a market cap of $275.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.64. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $133.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.The business had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. Novartis’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.33.

About Novartis

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.