Aprio Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased 2,762 shares of Novartis AG, valued at approximately $308,000, during the 1st quarter, according to its recent SEC filing.
• Goldman Sachs increased its holdings in Novartis by 60.3%, making significant purchases alongside other institutional investors in the same quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Novartis, with one upgrading it to "equal weight" while the stock maintains an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Aprio Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 366.0% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Novartis Stock Down 1.5%

NVS stock traded down $1.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $126.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 344,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,895,538. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $130.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.43.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Company 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.