Clarius Group LLC Purchases 1,612 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Clarius Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 25.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,931 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,612 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $97.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $199.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $100.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.99.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis 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.