CWA Asset Management Group LLC Takes $2.95 Million Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,953,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 1,029.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 4,333 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Novartis by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,499 shares of the company's stock worth $1,016,000 after buying an additional 2,463 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 35,464 shares of the company's stock worth $3,430,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Novartis by 14.5% during the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $106.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,176,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,021. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.56 and a 200 day moving average of $109.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $217.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.56 earnings per share 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.