Founders Financial Securities LLC Increases Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,738 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 480.0% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.67.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $106.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $217.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $108.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $102.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.22.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $11.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.27 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.