Nwam LLC Grows Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Nwam LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,255 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $146,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 424,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,322,000 after acquiring an additional 32,398 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 22,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,152,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $109.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.04. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

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.