Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,156 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $233,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 257.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 6,990 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in Novartis by 297.1% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 17,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 12,747 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.7% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 6,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Novartis Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $99.93 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. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.69. The company has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Novartis 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.