Altrius Capital Management Inc Has $8.56 Million Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Altrius Capital Management Inc lowered its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,438 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,622 shares during the period. Novartis comprises about 2.1% of Altrius Capital Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $8,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its position in Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 0.9% during the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NVS. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $103.03. 372,060 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,340,177. The company has a market cap of $210.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.