Van ECK Associates Corp Has $31.88 Million Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 327,614 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,901 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Novartis were worth $31,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,092,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating on the stock. Three equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.60. The company had a trading volume of 640,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,667. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $217.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $100.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.20.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.