Saturna Capital Corp Raises Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Saturna Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 320,266 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,248 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $31,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Novartis by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 46,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,296,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 2.7% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 28.2% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 35,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,096,000 after purchasing an additional 7,824 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 4,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 2,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $111.48 on Wednesday. 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 $227.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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

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.