Novartis AG $NVS Stock Holdings Increased by Kimelman & Baird LLC

Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,050 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 9.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,962,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,067,000 after buying an additional 413,778 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,330,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,308,000 after buying an additional 19,595 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,275,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,649,000 after acquiring an additional 41,520 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $220,004,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 619,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,594,000 after acquiring an additional 54,262 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. HSBC upgraded Novartis from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $123.00 to $136.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.25.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $162.73 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.25. The stock has a market cap of $310.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $123.24 and a 12 month high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.53 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 41.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 9.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG is a Swiss pharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative medicines. Its research and products address conditions in areas including oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular, renal and metabolic health.

The company’s medicines include treatments such as Kisqali for certain breast cancers, Cosentyx for inflammatory diseases, Entresto for heart failure and Kesimpta for multiple sclerosis. Its portfolio also includes radioligand therapies and other specialized treatments.

Novartis was formed in 1996 through the merger of Swiss companies Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz.