Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires 296,950 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.10% of Novartis worth $194,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Novartis by 128.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company's stock worth $51,554,000 after purchasing an additional 296,890 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,063,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,795,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $21,078,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $111.85. 1,770,048 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,074,565. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.98. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $228.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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.