Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Raises Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,617 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,824 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 9,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 46,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,296,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank boosted its stake in Novartis by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 3,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 223,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,764,000 after purchasing an additional 10,290 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $105.68 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $216.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

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.