Sovran Advisors LLC Takes Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Sovran Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in Novartis AG, purchasing 2,970 shares valued at approximately $361,000 during the second quarter.
• Novartis reported an EPS of $2.42 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.3%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Novartis, with one strong buy, one buy, four holds, and three sells, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold."

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,606,724 shares of the company's stock worth $959,535,000 after purchasing an additional 422,869 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 60.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,660,485 shares of the company's stock worth $408,071,000 after buying an additional 1,377,252 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,180,281 shares of the company's stock worth $243,058,000 after purchasing an additional 47,690 shares during the last quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC boosted 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 worth $154,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,407 shares during the period. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC increased its position in Novartis by 4.6% during the first quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 1,258,639 shares of the company's stock worth $140,313,000 after acquiring an additional 55,316 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Up 0.4%

NVS stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $122.84. 1,284,721 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,055,355. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $121.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.24. The company has a market cap of $259.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.63. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $130.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.Novartis's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 recently commented on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.