Simplicity Wealth LLC Buys 1,244 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,621 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,244 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 11.8% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth $229,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth $1,291,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in Novartis by 0.4% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 46,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,296,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XML Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 6.0% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 9,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS stock opened at $115.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $104.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.87. The company has a market capitalization of $236.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

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.