XML Financial LLC Purchases 656 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

XML Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,455 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 656 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 280.5% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NVS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $98.17 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.88. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.57.

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