Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 429 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 99,001 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 429 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 165,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,099,000 after buying an additional 8,186 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its stake in Novartis by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 11,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 326,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,775,000 after acquiring an additional 3,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 163,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $111.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $227.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $103.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.96. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.