Occidental Asset Management LLC Buys 200 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,690 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 73.5% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $116.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $237.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.63.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America downgraded 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 note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

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.