Centaurus Financial Inc. Grows Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,728 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $202,771,000 after buying an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 343.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,652,000 after acquiring an additional 509,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in Novartis by 10,528.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,511,000 after acquiring an additional 321,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $103.54 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $111.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.22. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Company 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.