Jones Financial Companies Lllp Raises Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 35.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 136,819 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,714 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp's holdings in Novartis were worth $13,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 5,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $4,093,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 85.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 10,117 shares of the company's stock worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 4,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC increased its position in Novartis by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 3,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,770,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,074,565. The business's fifty day moving average is $103.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.96. The stock has a market cap of $228.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.