Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC has increased its holdings in Novartis AG by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 310,389 shares valued at $37.56 million.
• Analyst ratings for Novartis are mixed, with one firm downgrading it to a "buy" and others maintaining various ratings, resulting in an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.33.
• Novartis reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, outperforming expectations, and showing a 12.3% revenue increase compared to the previous year.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 310,389 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 86,351 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $37,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Essex Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Novartis by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 1.7% in the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its holdings in Novartis by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 2,531 shares of the company's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NVS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Novartis Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:NVS opened at $128.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $270.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.63. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $130.46. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $122.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.81.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. The business 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%. Novartis's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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