Motco Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Motco increased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,459 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the quarter. Motco’s holdings in Novartis were worth $629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NVS shares. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE NVS opened at $109.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $102.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share 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.