Norden Group LLC Buys New Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 42,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,093,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $109.06 on Friday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $222.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.04. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last released 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on NVS. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.