Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,612 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.8% during the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 5.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $104.28 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis 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.