Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Increases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,856 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 73.5% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $103.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $113.41 and its 200 day moving average is $109.79. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

About Novartis

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.