Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Has $1.12 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 18.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,069 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,316 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Tsfg LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 366.0% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $120.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $116.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.83. The stock has a market cap of $255.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $124.83.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. The company's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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