BNP Paribas Financial Markets Raises Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,890 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,552 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Novartis were worth $2,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Novartis by 503.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Up 0.7 %

NVS opened at $102.53 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.