Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Increases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE raised its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,049 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Novartis by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,473,000 after purchasing an additional 16,015 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its holdings in Novartis by 40.1% in the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,819,000 after purchasing an additional 590,830 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after buying an additional 666,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 191.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS opened at $114.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis Company 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.