Verity Asset Management Inc. Has $417,000 Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,287 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 543 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 257.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 6,990 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 21,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,449,000 after buying an additional 3,372 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IAM Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 14,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $105.54 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $215.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.43.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.79% and a net margin of 23.56%. Analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.34 earnings per share 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.