Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Acquires 102 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,913 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 191.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,610,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its holdings in Novartis by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,819,000 after buying an additional 590,830 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $106.81 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $115.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $218.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.56 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

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.