Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires 50,353 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 395.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,099 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,353 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Novartis were worth $6,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in Novartis by 480.0% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $111.70. 1,612,369 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,467,459. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $228.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $112.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. The business had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.50 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.13.

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.