Saturna Capital Corp Increases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Saturna Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 320,266 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,248 shares during the quarter. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $31,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NVS. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 3.5 %

Novartis stock opened at $111.48 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $104.66 and a 200 day moving average of $107.82.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its 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 net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 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.