Agate Pass Investment Management LLC Invests $702,000 in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Agate Pass Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% during 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. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 782.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS traded down $0.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $98.70. The stock had a trading volume of 783,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,315,073. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $101.55 and a 200-day moving average of $109.29. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $201.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.