Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Acquires 20,818 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 111.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 39,496 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,818 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $6,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 10.1% in the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 12,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,852,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Novartis by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Novartis by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,835,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 27.3% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 55.1% in the first quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 4,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $155.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $112.34 and a 1-year high of $170.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $149.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.50.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.20.

Novartis Company 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.