Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Holdings Lifted by Financial & Tax Architects LLC

Financial & Tax Architects LLC lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,522 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the period. Financial & Tax Architects LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Novartis by 15.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Novartis by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Novartis by 2.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,986,000 after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Novartis by 18.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,289,000 after purchasing an additional 123,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,610,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.51. 1,483,597 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 958,711. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $100.61 and its 200 day moving average is $108.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

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.