Novartis AG $NVS Position Increased by Calamos Wealth Management LLC

Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 38.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,568 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crux Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Novartis by 46.4% during the second quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors now owns 10,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218 shares during the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 18.3% during the second quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 7,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp grew its position in shares of Novartis by 4.4% during the second quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 4,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 5.4% during the second quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 19,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 3.1% during the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,135,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,386,000 after acquiring an additional 33,954 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NVS. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.33.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $131.46 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.64. 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 AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $133.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. Novartis’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share 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.