Eldred Rock Partners LLC Raises Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Eldred Rock Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 118.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,543 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 32,816 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises 2.3% of Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $6,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 21,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,372 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 21.5% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter valued at $663,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $7,908,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in Novartis by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 229,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,465,000 after acquiring an additional 57,000 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.95. 820,386 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,369,301. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis 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.