Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Sells 106 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,327 shares of the company’s stock after selling 106 shares during the period. Novartis comprises approximately 0.9% of Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 128.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,554,000 after purchasing an additional 296,890 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth approximately $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $196,225,000 after acquiring an additional 231,851 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $24,096,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,078,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 0.8 %

Novartis stock opened at $107.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $100.36 and a 200 day moving average of $108.37. The stock has a market cap of $220.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

About Novartis

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.