Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 938,844 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,317 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $107,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock traded down $0.34 on Friday, reaching $103.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,452,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,345,274. The company's fifty day moving average is $113.14 and its 200 day moving average is $109.84. The company has a market cap of $210.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a PEG 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 AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.