Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC Invests $787,000 in Novartis AG $NVS

Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $787,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after acquiring an additional 11,444 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Argus raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $147.17 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $112.34 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $280.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.