Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Acquired by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 38.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,759 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,866 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter worth $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at $35,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Up 1.0 %

NVS opened at $104.87 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $110.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $214.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current 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.