Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $854,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Novartis by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,746,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,264,000 after acquiring an additional 54,683 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Novartis by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,473,000 after acquiring an additional 16,015 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 0.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,523,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,082,000 after purchasing an additional 14,686 shares during the period. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted 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 purchasing an additional 590,830 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

Novartis Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $115.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. 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 $235.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.18.

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

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.