YANKCOM Partnership Makes New Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $804,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Novartis by 128.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,554,000 after purchasing an additional 296,890 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 15.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after buying an additional 231,851 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth about $24,096,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,078,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 4.1 %

Novartis stock opened at $109.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $100.18 and its 200-day moving average is $108.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.79% and a net margin of 23.56%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current 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.