Capital Wealth Planning LLC Buys 3,839 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 19.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,863 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,839 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Ocean LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.70.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $115.66 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $236.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $113.58 and its 200 day moving average is $105.00. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share 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.