Goepper Burkhardt LLC Invests $208,000 in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Goepper Burkhardt LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,127,000 after acquiring an additional 6,767 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth about $15,044,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 180,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,485,000 after buying an additional 11,080 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Novartis by 314.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 55,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,563,000 after buying an additional 41,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter worth about $2,968,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS stock opened at $115.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $236.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.48. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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