Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Purchased by Promethos Capital LLC

Promethos Capital LLC grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,076 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,600 shares during the period. Novartis makes up approximately 5.6% of Promethos Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Promethos Capital LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $14,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the first quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $116.00 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $114.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.36. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $237.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NVS. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $120.70.

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.

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