Townsquare Capital LLC Purchases 11,866 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 38.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,759 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,866 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $4,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 4.8% in the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 0.9% during the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company's stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Up 0.9 %

Novartis stock traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $105.77. 679,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,337,569. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $110.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current 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.