Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,084 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 170 shares during the quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Novartis were worth $782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 16.7% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 34,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 4,897 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 13,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Novartis by 8.1% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $509,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $106.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,516,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,321,776. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $102.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.19.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.50 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NVS. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Novartis in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.67.

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.