Ignite Planners LLC Has $559,000 Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Ignite Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,724 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 343.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,652,000 after buying an additional 509,567 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in Novartis by 10,528.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,511,000 after buying an additional 321,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,063,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $99.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $101.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.24. The firm has a market cap of $202.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

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.