Bank of Montreal Can Increases Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 18.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 780,980 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 123,077 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Novartis were worth $90,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 191.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after buying an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 15.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after acquiring an additional 231,851 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 31.7% during the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,112,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,436,000 after acquiring an additional 267,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 26,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $103.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $212.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.23. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.