Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Acquired by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 265,682 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 41,686 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $25,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Novartis by 128.1% in 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 stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,063,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,795,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $111.85 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.38 and a 200-day moving average of $107.98. The firm has a market cap of $228.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve 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 released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

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.