Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $309,000 Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,178 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 211 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,668,000 after buying an additional 18,894 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after buying an additional 5,164 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Novartis by 135.5% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after buying an additional 22,998 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 13.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,088,000 after buying an additional 18,990 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $111.48 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $227.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $104.66 and a 200-day moving average of $107.82.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.