Modern Wealth Management LLC Buys New Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Modern Wealth Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Novartis AG, purchasing 7,755 shares valued at approximately $864,000 in the first quarter.
• Novartis recently reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, exceeding consensus estimates, and indicated a 12.3% increase in revenue year-over-year, reflecting strong business performance.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Novartis, with a recent upgrade by Morgan Stanley to "equal weight" and an average price target of $120.33, suggesting cautious optimism in the stock's outlook.

Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $864,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 366.0% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Novartis stock traded down $0.42 on Tuesday, hitting $122.89. The stock had a trading volume of 954,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,884,330. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $121.74 and a 200 day moving average of $115.94. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $130.46. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $259.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.63.

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. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and set a $118.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.