Novartis AG $NVS Shares Acquired by ProVise Management Group LLC

ProVise Management Group LLC raised its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 136,467 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,644 shares during the period. Novartis makes up 1.3% of ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $16,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Essex Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Novartis by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 4.4% during the second quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Novartis by 0.4% in the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 1.2% during the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NVS. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.33.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $131.16 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $134.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $277.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.32.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The business had revenue of $13.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

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.