Synovus Financial Corp Has $2.20 Million Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 42.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,157 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,728 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Novartis were worth $2,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted 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 worth $788,626,000 after buying an additional 1,389,610 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 191.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 15.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,225,000 after buying an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 31.7% during the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,112,491 shares of the company's stock worth $118,436,000 after acquiring an additional 267,490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC lowered Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $97.77. 1,255,093 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,326,907. The firm's 50 day moving average is $107.95 and its 200 day moving average is $110.28. The stock has a market cap of $199.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.65 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.