Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 296,950 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Novartis worth $194,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the third quarter worth $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $109.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $222.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.04. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

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.