Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 123,077 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 780,980 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 123,077 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Novartis were worth $90,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Novartis by 7.9% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 12,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 15.7% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its position in Novartis by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 6,612 shares of the company's stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company's stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $103.80 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $111.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.23. The stock has a market cap of $212.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NVS. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.50.

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.

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