Van ECK Associates Corp Has $35.44 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 310,713 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 24,123 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $35,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1,029.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 4,333 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the first quarter worth about $207,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 82,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,002,000 after purchasing an additional 26,632 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Novartis by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $110.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $225.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.58 and its 200-day moving average is $109.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.56 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on NVS. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

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.