Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Acquires New Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 782.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $103.09 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.57. The company has a market cap of $210.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis 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.