Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 13.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,256 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,990 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $18,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the first quarter valued at $279,000. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Novartis by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 15,544 shares of the company's stock worth $1,655,000 after buying an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.7% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 18.6% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,908,000 after acquiring an additional 2,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 21.7% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.5 %

Novartis stock traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $101.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 802,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,176,721. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's fifty day moving average is $109.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.24.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.