Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Boosts Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 39,671 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 939 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in Novartis by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 530 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its position in Novartis by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 33,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,338,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Means Investment CO. Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NVS stock traded down $0.03 on Tuesday, hitting $106.51. 714,135 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,467,238. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $102.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.13.

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.