Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stake Boosted by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 159,764 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,733 shares during the quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $15,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in Novartis by 11.2% during the third quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 11.2% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 48.0% during the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 383,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,104,000 after acquiring an additional 29,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. now owns 10,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 5,019 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.13.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $110.51. 1,997,848 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,465,404. The company has a market cap of $225.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $111.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.80.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.