Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Purchased by Eldred Rock Partners LLC

Eldred Rock Partners LLC boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 118.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,543 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,816 shares during the period. Novartis comprises approximately 2.3% of Eldred Rock Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Eldred Rock Partners LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $6,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 191.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company's stock worth $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 53.7% in the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company's stock worth $184,372,000 after acquiring an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,610,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its holdings in Novartis by 40.1% during the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company's stock worth $199,819,000 after purchasing an additional 590,830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $120.70.

Novartis Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:NVS traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $113.95. The stock had a trading volume of 820,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,074,081. The company has a market cap of $232.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 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. The firm's fifty day moving average is $115.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.61. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 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.