Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Purchased by Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 156,100.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,562 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $104.87 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. 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 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NVS. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Profile

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.