Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Has $13.98 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,477 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $13,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Private Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at $29,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS traded up $1.39 on Friday, hitting $114.70. 1,057,253 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,369,572. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $114.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $108.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.