Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Acquired by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,276 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,118 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $10,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position 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 buying an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Novartis by 191.1% during 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. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Novartis by 343.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,652,000 after purchasing an additional 509,567 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 10,528.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,511,000 after purchasing an additional 321,121 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $98.40 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.13. The firm has a market cap of $201.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.56. 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 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued 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. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

About Novartis

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.