Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Grows Stake in Novartis AG $NVS

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 340,919 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,662 shares during the period. Novartis makes up about 1.9% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $41,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 13.2% during the second quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 49,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,975,000 after purchasing an additional 5,742 shares during the period. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Cypress Capital Group boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 5,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 16.8% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 47,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 6,849 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $1,909,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $131.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $127.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $134.00.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. HC Wainwright lowered shares of Novartis to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.