Ascent Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG by 104.8%, owning a total of 14,024 shares valued at approximately $1.56 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analyst ratings for Novartis have been mixed, with Deutsche Bank maintaining a "buy" rating, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from "strong-buy" to "buy," resulting in an average rating of "Hold" with a price target of $124.33.
• Novartis reported earnings of $2.42 per share for the last quarter, beating expectations and reflecting a 12.3% revenue growth year-over-year, bringing total revenue to $14.05 billion.

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 104.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,024 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,176 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $1,739,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 40,699 shares of the company's stock worth $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 11,062 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,027,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the period. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $991,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Down 2.8%

NVS stock traded down $3.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $124.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,861,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 997,220. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $130.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company's 50 day moving average is $121.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.73. The company has a market capitalization of $262.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.63.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $120.33.

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.