Cardinal Capital Management Purchases 3,870 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Cardinal Capital Management raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,719 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,870 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 99.0% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,661,000 after purchasing an additional 371,590 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Novartis by 1,936.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 387,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,158,000 after buying an additional 368,778 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,003,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 6,599.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 149,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,084,000 after purchasing an additional 147,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 48.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 447,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 146,327 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NVS stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $106.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,268,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,475,178. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $108.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $101.70 and a 200 day moving average of $101.09. The firm has a market cap of $217.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays upgraded Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.67.

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.