Portfolio Design Labs LLC Invests $277,000 in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,668,000 after buying an additional 18,894 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Novartis by 115.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,797,000 after purchasing an additional 124,111 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Novartis by 135.5% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 22,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $106.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $218.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.42 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.