Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 1,030 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,410 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Novartis by 23.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,473,000 after acquiring an additional 16,015 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its position in Novartis by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,819,000 after acquiring an additional 590,830 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 191.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $113.80 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $116.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.