Novartis AG $NVS Stake Increased by Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 392.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,517 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,876 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $7,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,876,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,033 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,465,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,317,000 after purchasing an additional 226,484 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Novartis by 13,687.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,628,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,103,000 after purchasing an additional 4,594,726 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,605,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,658,000 after buying an additional 78,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,479,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,562,000 after buying an additional 419,988 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $159.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $149.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.42. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $112.34 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.45.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Argus raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Profile

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.