Savant Capital LLC Buys 4,514 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,076 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,514 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter worth $26,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in Novartis in the second quarter worth $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its holdings in Novartis by 172.2% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 313 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS stock opened at $130.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $133.55. The company has a market cap of $275.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $127.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.04.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $13.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Cfra Research raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.33.

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.