2,402 Shares in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Acquired by Aprio Wealth Management LLC

Aprio Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Novartis by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,746,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,264,000 after acquiring an additional 54,683 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 0.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,473,000 after acquiring an additional 16,015 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 0.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,523,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,082,000 after acquiring an additional 14,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its position in shares of Novartis by 40.1% in the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,819,000 after acquiring an additional 590,830 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $113.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.81. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

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.