Portfolio Design Labs LLC Purchases New Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $2.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $105.43. 1,271,629 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,043,258. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $100.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.27. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Company 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.