Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires 226,484 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,465,850 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 226,484 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,029,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 77.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,648,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,362,000 after purchasing an additional 720,860 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at $64,563,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 85.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,045,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,035,000 after purchasing an additional 480,201 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3,309.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,656,000 after purchasing an additional 292,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 78.0% during the third quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 606,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,813,000 after purchasing an additional 265,861 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 0.1%

NVS stock opened at $152.14 on Monday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $111.06 and a fifty-two week high of $170.46. The business’s 50-day moving average is $150.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $290.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Argus raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

About Novartis

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.