Novartis AG $NVS Stock Holdings Boosted by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 125,843 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,059 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $17,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Novartis by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,962,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,067,000 after acquiring an additional 413,778 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,330,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,308,000 after acquiring an additional 19,595 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 1.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,275,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,649,000 after purchasing an additional 41,520 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the first quarter valued at approximately $220,004,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Novartis by 9.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 619,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,594,000 after purchasing an additional 54,262 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $162.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.25. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $123.24 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.51 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.40.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.53 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 41.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 9.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. HSBC upgraded shares of Novartis from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $123.00 to $136.00 in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $163.00 price objective on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.25.

Novartis Profile

Novartis AG is a Swiss pharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative medicines. Its research and products address conditions in areas including oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular, renal and metabolic health.

The company’s medicines include treatments such as Kisqali for certain breast cancers, Cosentyx for inflammatory diseases, Entresto for heart failure and Kesimpta for multiple sclerosis. Its portfolio also includes radioligand therapies and other specialized treatments.

Novartis was formed in 1996 through the merger of Swiss companies Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz.