Quartz Partners LLC Purchases 853 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Quartz Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,163 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 853 shares during the quarter. Novartis comprises approximately 1.1% of Quartz Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Quartz Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 128.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,554,000 after acquiring an additional 296,890 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 15.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $19,795,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $21,078,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NVS. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $109.42 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $101.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.11. 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 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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.