Cohen Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 116 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,814 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 503.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Novartis by 782.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 1.4 %

Novartis stock opened at $97.73 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

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.