Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. Purchases 95 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,091 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Novartis by 1.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,767 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the second quarter worth $15,044,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 6.5% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 180,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,485,000 after acquiring an additional 11,080 shares during the last quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 33.3% during the second quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,938,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth about $2,968,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:NVS traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $115.00. 348,081 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,358,726. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. 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 note on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America lowered 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 research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis 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.