Quantinno Capital Management LP Raises Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,390 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,811 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Novartis were worth $14,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Novartis by 23.1% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in 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 valued at $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Novartis by 343.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,652,000 after acquiring an additional 509,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in Novartis by 10,528.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company's stock worth $34,511,000 after acquiring an additional 321,121 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $102.70. 517,817 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,332,445. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $109.95 and a 200 day moving average of $110.25. 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 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Profile

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.