Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 24,123 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 310,713 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,123 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $35,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Novartis by 191.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after buying an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 53.7% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after buying an additional 666,104 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,610,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its position in shares of Novartis by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,819,000 after acquiring an additional 590,830 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $110.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $225.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

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.