Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Given “Hold” Rating at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank reiterated their hold rating on shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America lowered Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE NVS opened at $103.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.00. Novartis has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $212.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novartis

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Founders Financial Securities LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its position in Novartis by 4.8% during the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.9% in the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 5.1% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Novartis

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.