Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 263.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,404 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,016 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,674,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $3,873,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Novartis by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 93,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,729,000 after buying an additional 12,118 shares during the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $3,819,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $427,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NVS. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $98.60 on Friday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $108.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.14. The stock has a market cap of $201.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current 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.