QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $18.27 Million Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 187,782 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,519 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $18,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Novartis by 128.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,554,000 after acquiring an additional 296,890 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $30,063,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Novartis by 15.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after acquiring an additional 231,851 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $19,795,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 1.5 %

NVS opened at $107.95 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $102.12 and its 200-day moving average is $108.08. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $220.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NVS shares. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Company 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.