International Assets Investment Management LLC Invests $19.88 Million in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 172,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,878,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 73.5% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.6 %

Novartis stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.89. The stock had a trading volume of 2,845,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,349,550. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $116.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.02. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.53 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.