Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Purchased by Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,192 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 5.1% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.4% during the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Essex LLC now owns 2,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.13.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS traded up $0.47 on Friday, reaching $120.89. The company had a trading volume of 902,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,412,403. The company has a market capitalization of $247.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $111.51 and a 200-day moving average of $103.86. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.44 earnings per share for the current 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.