Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA Takes Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 24,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,984,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Novartis by 11.1% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,303,000 after buying an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the first quarter worth $295,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.4% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Novartis by 12.9% in the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $131.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $277.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $133.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $124.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%.Novartis’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current 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.