Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 129.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,412 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,581 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,225,000 after buying an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after buying an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,986,000 after acquiring an additional 26,317 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Novartis by 18.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,289,000 after acquiring an additional 123,077 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 128.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,554,000 after acquiring an additional 296,890 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research report 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 assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $106.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.20. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal 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.