North Star Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Novartis AG $NVS

North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $965,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 4,316.2% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 14,416 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Novartis by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 887,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,332,000 after acquiring an additional 54,682 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Presilium Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $703,000. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in Novartis by 85.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 19,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 9,086 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.6%

NVS opened at $153.75 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $155.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.78. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $121.57 and a 1-year high of $170.46. The company has a market cap of $293.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.56% and a net margin of 23.29%.The business had revenue of $14.95 billion during the quarter. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis 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.