Telos Capital Management Inc. Buys 1,039 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,686 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Telos Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,986,000 after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Novartis by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,289,000 after purchasing an additional 123,077 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 128.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,554,000 after purchasing an additional 296,890 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $106.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.42. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.79%. Research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.