Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC Purchases Shares of 5,707 Novartis AG $NVS

Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $787,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust lifted its position in Novartis by 425.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $147.17 on Friday. Novartis AG has a one year low of $112.34 and a one year high of $170.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $280.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $149.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.76.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.