Marino Stram & Associates LLC Raises Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,642 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $242,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Novartis by 343.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,652,000 after purchasing an additional 509,567 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Down 1.6 %

Novartis stock opened at $98.17 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $100.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. 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 $200.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.