New York State Common Retirement Fund Grows Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,678 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Novartis were worth $10,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $109.15 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $223.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.