Novartis AG $NVS Stake Boosted by HB Wealth Management LLC

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,939 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,582 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 49,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,975,000 after acquiring an additional 5,742 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 64,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,305,000 after buying an additional 14,032 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in Novartis by 306.6% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 13,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,701,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group increased its holdings in Novartis by 84.1% in the second quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 5,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sonora Investment Management Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the second quarter valued at approximately $266,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $141.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.97 and its 200-day moving average is $127.05. The company has a market cap of $298.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.51. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $97.39 and a 52-week high of $143.49.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Cfra Research upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

About Novartis

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.