Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Buys 11,355 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 19.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 69,774 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,355 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $7,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in Novartis by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 35,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,787,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.6% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 153,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,294,000 after acquiring an additional 5,285 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance grew its position in Novartis by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 3,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 4,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in Novartis by 10,528.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,511,000 after purchasing an additional 321,121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $115.99 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $114.03 and a 200-day moving average of $105.28. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $237.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.