Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,962,794 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 413,778 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Novartis were worth $758,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Novartis by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,876,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,860,000 after buying an additional 1,148,033 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,465,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,317,000 after buying an additional 226,484 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Novartis by 13,687.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,628,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,594,726 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,479,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,562,000 after acquiring an additional 419,988 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,158,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,414,000 after acquiring an additional 895,255 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.20.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $156.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $298.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.72. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $112.34 and a 1-year high of $170.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.56% and a net margin of 23.29%.The firm had revenue of $14.95 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Company Profile

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.