Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,773 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NVS. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $115.60 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $236.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.95.

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

Novartis 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.