Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Position Increased by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 219,027 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,284 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Novartis were worth $25,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded 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 note on Wednesday, September 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.31 during trading on Monday, reaching $101.68. 1,123,778 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,331,402. The business's 50-day moving average price is $109.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.30. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $207.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for 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 posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 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.