Pegasus Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Pegasus Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 27,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,173,000. Novartis makes up about 1.3% of Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 4,376 shares in the last quarter. Urban Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 104,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,908,000 after purchasing an additional 4,312 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Independence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $154.91 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $148.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.46. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $112.34 and a fifty-two week high of $170.46.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on NVS shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.