Novartis AG $NVS Shares Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Novartis AG by 3.1%, now owning 191,635 shares valued at approximately $23.19 million.
• Analysts have given mixed ratings on Novartis, with Morgan Stanley upgrading it to "equal weight" and a price target of $123.00, while Goldman Sachs maintained a "sell" rating with a target of $118.00.
• Novartis reported a quarterly EPS of $2.42, surpassing estimates and demonstrating a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.3% to $14.05 billion.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,635 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,767 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $23,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Novartis by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,600 shares of the company's stock worth $4,303,000 after acquiring an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 19,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,227,000 after buying an additional 9,187 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $264,000. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $120.33.

Novartis Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $132.41 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $123.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.18. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $133.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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