Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Has $13.49 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 101.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,812 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,297 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Novartis were worth $13,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in Novartis by 15,950.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings cut Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Argus raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.20.

Novartis Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $148.30 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $112.34 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.84. The stock has a market cap of $282.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.83 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.