Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Purchases 55,581 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 129.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $149,000. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 47,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 70,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,072,000 after acquiring an additional 6,365 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 40,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,657,000 after buying an additional 1,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $19,777,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NVS. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $106.65 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.20. The firm has a market cap of $217.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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.