Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Makes New $57,000 Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in Novartis by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Novartis by 480.0% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.13.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS traded up $0.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $112.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,678,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,443. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.47. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $113.00.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Novartis

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.