Valmark Advisers Inc. Grows Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,806 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $105.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $215.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.25.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Novartis 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.