Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Has $4.56 Million Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 26.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,664 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,321 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 4.8% during the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 0.9% in the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 3.4% during the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $104.28 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $111.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.12. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.