Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys Shares of 207,506 Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 207,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,096,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 127.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 17,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after purchasing an additional 9,591 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Novartis by 5.9% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,118,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Novartis by 29.5% during the third quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,550,000 after buying an additional 5,052 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. grew its position in Novartis by 6.4% during the third quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 6,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $209,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

Novartis Trading Up 0.7 %

NVS traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $113.93. 156,760 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,328,768. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $116.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis 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.