Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Position Lifted by First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,096 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,645 shares during the period. Novartis accounts for 2.8% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $13,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 280.5% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $106.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.39. The company has a market cap of $218.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.