SVB Wealth LLC Takes Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 8,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $110.78 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.98. The company has a market cap of $226.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Company 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.