Range Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 3,117 Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Novartis by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after buying an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth about $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 343.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,652,000 after purchasing an additional 509,567 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in Novartis by 10,528.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,511,000 after purchasing an additional 321,121 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,063,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NVS. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $99.02 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $102.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.44. The company has a market capitalization of $202.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced 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 net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal 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.