Global Retirement Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,713 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 849 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. 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 valued at $51,554,000 after purchasing an additional 296,890 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 15.7% during 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 during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $19,795,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $21,078,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $109.42 on Friday. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $101.46 and its 200 day moving average is $108.14. The stock has a market cap of $223.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.