Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,961 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 73.5% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $118.34. 174,052 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,426,069. The stock has a market cap of $241.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $118.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.76 and a 200-day moving average of $103.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.13.

Novartis Profile

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.