Global Retirement Partners LLC Buys 849 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,713 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 849 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its position in Novartis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,990,000 after purchasing an additional 52,044 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Novartis by 2.9% during the 3rd 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 raised its position in Novartis by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,289,000 after purchasing an additional 123,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $109.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $223.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $101.46 and its 200 day moving average is $108.14. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.