Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Acquired by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,773 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on NVS. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $115.60 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $236.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.95. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS 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.