Assetmark Inc. Raises Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 18.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,682 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,686 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $25,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $9,365,000. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 43,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,227,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 99,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,634,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 165,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,099,000 after acquiring an additional 8,186 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $111.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $228.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $103.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.98.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

About Novartis

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.