Capital Wealth Planning LLC Raises Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,590 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $270,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $207,000. HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in Novartis by 12.8% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 12.1% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 242,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,907,000 after buying an additional 26,150 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 18.9% during the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 26,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,007,000 after buying an additional 4,153 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $109.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $102.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $222.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS 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.