Blue Square Asset Management LLC Acquires 426 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Blue Square Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,110 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises about 1.3% of Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Novartis by 23.1% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Novartis by 191.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,610,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its position in shares of Novartis by 40.1% in the 1st 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. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $109.35 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.76 and a 200-day moving average of $109.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.