Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Acquired by Monte Financial Group LLC

Monte Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 41.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,723 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,610 shares during the quarter. Novartis makes up 2.2% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 15.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after acquiring an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,986,000 after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,289,000 after buying an additional 123,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Novartis by 4.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 344,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,676,000 after buying an additional 13,486 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $99.93 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.69.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its 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 analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.