4,314 Shares in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Bought by Goldstone Financial Group LLC

Goldstone Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter worth $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. 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 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, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $109.89 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.02. The company has a market cap of $224.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.53 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.