Kathmere Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,714 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its stake 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 worth $184,372,000 after acquiring an additional 666,104 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $64,610,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised 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 purchasing an additional 590,830 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS opened at $115.61 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.87. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $236.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut 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 note on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

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.