Park Avenue Securities LLC Raises Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,127 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,276 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $4,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 782.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on NVS shares. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.51. 1,483,597 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,600,863. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $100.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.98. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $199.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

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.