Citigroup Inc. Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 294,178 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,642 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $33,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 149.3% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $103.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.22. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly 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 for 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on NVS. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.