Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,845 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after buying an additional 70,314 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Novartis by 2.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,986,000 after buying an additional 26,317 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Novartis by 18.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,289,000 after buying an additional 123,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 128.1% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,554,000 after acquiring an additional 296,890 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.5 %

Novartis stock opened at $106.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.39. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $218.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.