Catalina Capital Group LLC Takes Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Catalina Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Novartis by 1,029.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 4,333 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Novartis by 30.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after buying an additional 2,463 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in Novartis by 7.2% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 2,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 35,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,430,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $107.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $218.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.55. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.