Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stake Raised by Clearstead Trust LLC

Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 73.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 269 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $26,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 480.0% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $106.13. 1,683,292 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,398,091. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $105.36 and its 200-day moving average is $102.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $216.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $112.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.37 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.13.

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.