Boston Common Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 166,173 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,369 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $19,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Novartis by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Novartis by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,746,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,264,000 after acquiring an additional 54,683 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Novartis by 0.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,473,000 after purchasing an additional 16,015 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,523,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,082,000 after purchasing an additional 14,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 40.1% in the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,819,000 after buying an additional 590,830 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $114.81 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.99. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $234.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America cut shares of 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 note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.70.

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.