Keystone Financial Services Boosts Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Keystone Financial Services lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,137 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the quarter. Keystone Financial Services’ holdings in Novartis were worth $821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in Novartis by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter worth $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $105.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current year.

About Novartis

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.