2,388 Shares in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Purchased by Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 15.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,986,000 after buying an additional 26,317 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,289,000 after buying an additional 123,077 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Novartis by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 344,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,676,000 after buying an additional 13,486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $105.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $100.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.41. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.79% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.