Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,062 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 87 shares during the quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $250,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $722,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 67.7% in the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 4,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $129.98 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $133.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price target (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.