Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 24,096 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,045 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,096 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Novartis were worth $31,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in Novartis by 93.0% in the 1st quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust lifted its stake in Novartis by 425.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

Novartis Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $154.84 on Monday. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $112.34 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $151.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.56% and a net margin of 23.29%.The company had revenue of $14.95 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current year.

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.