Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Position Increased by Cardinal Capital Management

Cardinal Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,319 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 444 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Novartis by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,127,000 after acquiring an additional 6,767 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $15,044,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 6.5% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 180,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,485,000 after purchasing an additional 11,080 shares during the period. Integral Health Asset Management LLC grew its position in Novartis by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,938,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,968,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 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 reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

Novartis Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $116.51 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $116.20 and its 200-day moving average is $107.75.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.52 earnings per share 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.