First PREMIER Bank Purchases 320 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,410 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the quarter. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Novartis were worth $162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 73.5% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded up $1.56 on Wednesday, reaching $115.33. The stock had a trading volume of 134,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,357,615. The stock has a market cap of $235.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.93.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

Novartis Company 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.