World Investment Advisors LLC Invests $3.87 Million in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,671 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,873,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Novartis by 23.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $788,626,000 after acquiring 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 worth $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company's stock worth $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 5.5% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 31.7% during the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,112,491 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,436,000 after purchasing an additional 267,490 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.2 %

NVS stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $98.36. 1,234,001 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,327,205. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $107.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 1.50 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 one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $1.74 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NVS. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Company 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.