4,500 Shares in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Acquired by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Syverson Strege & Co purchased a new position in Novartis in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 7.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Down 2.6 %

NVS opened at $98.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $101.47 and its 200-day moving average is $97.34. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $74.09 and a 52-week high of $105.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $13.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.32 million. Novartis had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 25.12%. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NVS. HSBC began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.25.

About Novartis

Novartis AG is a holding company, which engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, and Corporate. The Innovative Medicines segment researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells patented pharmaceuticals, and is composed of two business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.