Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Boosts Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,502 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Novartis by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,746,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,264,000 after buying an additional 54,683 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 0.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,473,000 after purchasing an additional 16,015 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,523,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,082,000 after purchasing an additional 14,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its stake in Novartis by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,819,000 after acquiring an additional 590,830 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $113.86 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $232.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed 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. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

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.