F M Investments LLC Makes New $249,000 Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.1% in the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,767,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.5% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 28,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 18.9% during the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 26,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,007,000 after purchasing an additional 4,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in Novartis by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $109.35 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $115.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $223.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

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