Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $248.47 Million Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,015 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $248,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $111.93. 1,161,914 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,474,157. The stock has a market cap of $228.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $106.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.31. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $112.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Novartis from $121.00 to $122.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.13.

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.