Ascent Group LLC Increases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,416 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Novartis Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $115.03 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.18. 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 market capitalization of $235.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.