Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Purchased by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 16.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,920 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,823 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after buying an additional 666,104 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 40.1% during the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,819,000 after buying an additional 590,830 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,661,000 after buying an additional 371,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,003,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE NVS opened at $116.95 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $239.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (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. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

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.