Morningstar Investment Services LLC Buys 371,590 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 99.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 746,836 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 371,590 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $74,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 167.6% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,827,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,307 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 50.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,049,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,803,000 after acquiring an additional 686,847 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 1,936.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 387,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,158,000 after acquiring an additional 368,778 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 6,599.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 149,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,084,000 after acquiring an additional 147,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 48.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 447,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 146,327 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Down 0.8 %

NVS stock traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.32. The company had a trading volume of 849,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,484,202. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.30. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $108.78. The stock has a market cap of $215.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.50 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.67.

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.