Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $5.24 Million Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 90.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,491 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,561 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $104.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $110.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.