Divergent Planning LLC Buys Shares of 5,739 Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Divergent Planning LLC has acquired a new stake in Novartis AG, purchasing 5,739 shares valued at approximately $694,000 during the second quarter.
• Novartis reported earnings of $2.42 per share for the latest quarter, beating analysts' estimates and achieving a 12.3% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Analysts have varying ratings on Novartis, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $120.33, reflecting mixed opinions on the stock's future performance.

Divergent Planning LLC bought a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $694,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 60.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,660,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $408,071,000 after buying an additional 1,377,252 shares during the last quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 12,664.1% during the first quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 1,383,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,204,000 after buying an additional 1,372,407 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 14,376.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727,296 shares of the company's stock worth $81,079,000 after buying an additional 722,272 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Novartis by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,606,724 shares of the company's stock worth $959,535,000 after buying an additional 422,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter worth about $24,763,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $0.55 on Friday, reaching $122.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,284,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,875,018. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $121.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.19. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $130.46. The firm has a market cap of $259.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.63.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $118.00 price target (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $120.33.

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.