Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 424,648 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 32,398 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $41,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Novartis by 128.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,554,000 after acquiring an additional 296,890 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,225,000 after buying an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $19,795,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth $21,078,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NVS. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $107.95 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.