First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,769 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,473,000 after acquiring an additional 16,015 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 40.1% in the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,819,000 after acquiring an additional 590,830 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after acquiring an additional 666,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 191.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $109.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $116.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.02. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

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.