Citigroup Inc. Buys 42,642 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 294,178 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,642 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $33,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis in the second quarter worth $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 149.3% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE NVS traded down $0.04 on Tuesday, reaching $103.50. The company had a trading volume of 843,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,406. The company's fifty day moving average is $111.60 and its 200-day moving average is $110.22. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.50.

About Novartis

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.