King Luther Capital Management Corp Buys 3,038 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,106 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,038 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• Novartis' Moonshot Cancer Therapy Could Be Future Growth Driver

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,297,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Novartis by 3.7% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,623 shares of the company's stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 21.0% during the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 26,483 shares of the company's stock worth $3,206,000 after buying an additional 4,598 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 8.6% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,289 shares of the company's stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cfra Research upgraded Novartis to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.33.

• 3 Top Big Pharma Stocks Investing Over $100 Billion in the U.S.

View Our Latest Report on NVS

Novartis Trading Up 0.6%

NVS stock opened at $127.07 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $133.55. The company has a market cap of $268.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $127.31 and a 200-day moving average of $120.91.

• 3 Momentum Stocks That Could Soar Post-Market Volatility

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The firm had revenue of $13.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. Novartis's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Company 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.

Further Reading

• Five stocks we like better than Novartis
• Investing in the High PE Growth Stocks
• Insiders Sold Big at These 3 Stocks—Should You Worry?
• 3 Stocks to Consider Buying in October
• Shares Down, Price Targets Up: 3 Stocks Upgraded After +10% Drops
• What Does Downgrade Mean in Investing?
• Nuclear Stocks Are Melting Down—Should Investors Panic?

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Novartis Right Now?

Before you consider Novartis, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Novartis wasn't on the list.

While Novartis currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here