HM Payson & Co. Has $395,000 Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,062 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 899 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $115.60 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $104.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.89. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

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.