Evermay Wealth Management LLC Buys 100 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,176 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Novartis by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,746,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,264,000 after buying an additional 54,683 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,523,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,082,000 after acquiring an additional 14,686 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its holdings in Novartis by 40.1% in the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,819,000 after acquiring an additional 590,830 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Novartis by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,442,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,599,000 after purchasing an additional 33,791 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 931,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Up 0.6 %

Novartis stock traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $109.92. 1,248,473 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,484,871. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $112.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.13.

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.