Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Purchases 16,063 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter, owning a total of 125,612 shares valued at $15.2 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Sonora Investment Management Group LLC and Focus Partners Wealth, acquired new stakes or increased their holdings in Novartis during the same period.
• Analysts have various ratings for Novartis, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $120.33, while financial performance indicators showed a 12.3% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,612 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,063 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $15,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $266,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Novartis by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 47,548 shares of the company's stock worth $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,849 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth $1,909,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 33,282 shares of the company's stock worth $3,710,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in Novartis by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 33,683 shares of the company's stock worth $4,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $130.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $274.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.64. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $133.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company's 50-day moving average price is $125.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.91.

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

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.

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