Strategic Blueprint LLC Makes New Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Strategic Blueprint LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 73.5% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NVS. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $109.34 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $115.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current 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.