Cherokee Insurance Co Takes $424,000 Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Cherokee Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 66.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $132.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $127.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.12. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $133.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $13.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Cfra set a $126.00 target price on Novartis and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. HC Wainwright downgraded Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.33.

Novartis Company 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.