First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Has $16.16 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 140,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,121 shares during the quarter. Novartis accounts for about 3.2% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $16,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after buying an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at $64,610,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 343.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,652,000 after purchasing an additional 509,567 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $106.46 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $114.56 and its 200-day moving average is $109.62. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $217.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 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 return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.56 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.