Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $196.23 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,706,009 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 231,851 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of Novartis worth $196,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Novartis by 23.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $788,626,000 after buying an additional 1,389,610 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Novartis by 191.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company's stock worth $202,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Novartis by 343.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,652,000 after purchasing an additional 509,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in Novartis by 10,528.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company's stock worth $34,511,000 after purchasing an additional 321,121 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Up 0.3 %

NVS traded up $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.80. 1,336,398 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,342,655. The company's fifty day moving average price is $111.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current 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.