Mezzasalma Advisors LLC Makes New $389,000 Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Mezzasalma Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,076,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares in the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 41,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,162,000 after buying an additional 8,116 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Novartis by 314.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 55,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,563,000 after buying an additional 41,815 shares during the period. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 368.3% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15,927 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NVS. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.13.

Novartis Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NVS traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $106.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 516,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,254,827. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $108.78. The stock has a market cap of $218.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $102.80 and its 200 day moving average is $101.38.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. Equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.