Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 145.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,317 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 113,260 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $22,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Novartis by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,767 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,044,000. Integral Health Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,938,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $854,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 115.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,797,000 after purchasing an additional 124,111 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NVS shares. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $103.09 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $112.34 and its 200 day moving average is $110.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $210.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. Research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.