ABC Arbitrage SA Acquires Shares of 203,424 Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 203,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,795,000. Novartis makes up approximately 2.8% of ABC Arbitrage SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Novartis by 128.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $24,096,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $21,078,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $105.43 on Friday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.33. The company has a market cap of $215.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.