Parallel Advisors LLC Acquires 896 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,946 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 191.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its position in shares of Novartis by 40.1% during the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,819,000 after purchasing an additional 590,830 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,661,000 after purchasing an additional 371,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $32,003,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $115.66 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $236.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $113.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

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.