World Investment Advisors Boosts Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,214 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,719 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Novartis were worth $6,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Country Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Novartis by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. DZ Bank cut Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Up 1.1%

NVS opened at $149.73 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $285.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Novartis AG has a one year low of $104.93 and a one year high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.