Quartz Partners LLC Has $1.77 Million Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Quartz Partners LLC grew its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,163 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 853 shares during the period. Novartis comprises 1.1% of Quartz Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Quartz Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after buying an additional 231,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after acquiring an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,990,000 after acquiring an additional 52,044 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 2.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,986,000 after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 18.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,289,000 after purchasing an additional 123,077 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 2.0 %

NVS opened at $109.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NVS. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Company 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.