Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Hantz Financial Services Inc.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,234 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 248 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Novartis by 23.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Novartis by 191.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after buying an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after buying an additional 231,851 shares in 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 valued at $155,669,000 after acquiring an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 31.7% in the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,112,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,436,000 after acquiring an additional 267,490 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $105.77 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $110.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.23. The stock has a market cap of $216.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 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.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

About Novartis

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.