Southland Equity Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Southland Equity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,380 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Novartis by 782.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS opened at $100.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $204.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $100.22 and its 200 day moving average is $108.81. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

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.