GAMMA Investing LLC Has $625,000 Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 33.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,437 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $113.76 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.19 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.81. 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 company 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.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.