Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Purchased by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 15.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 231,851 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $196,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 6,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 2,218.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 315,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,287,000 after purchasing an additional 46,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 39,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,562,000 after purchasing an additional 8,321 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $103.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $211.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.22.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

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.