Ingalls & Snyder LLC Raises Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 117,001 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $11,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,986,000 after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Novartis by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,289,000 after purchasing an additional 123,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Novartis by 128.1% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,554,000 after purchasing an additional 296,890 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $106.98 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $218.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.