Bank of America Corp DE Raises Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Novartis position by 9.1% in the first quarter, adding 413,778 shares to hold 4.96 million shares valued at approximately $758.1 million.
• Several other major institutions also raised their Novartis stakes, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 13.12% of the company.
• Novartis has an average analyst rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20. Shares opened at $156.18, down 1.4%, despite the company reporting quarterly revenue of $14.95 billion and earnings of $2.41 per share.

Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,962,794 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 413,778 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.26% of Novartis worth $758,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,876,906 shares of the company's stock worth $1,223,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,033 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,465,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,029,317,000 after buying an additional 226,484 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Novartis by 13,687.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,628,296 shares of the company's stock worth $638,103,000 after buying an additional 4,594,726 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,479,307 shares of the company's stock worth $617,562,000 after buying an additional 419,988 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Novartis by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,158,122 shares of the company's stock worth $435,414,000 after buying an additional 895,255 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Down 1.4%

Novartis stock opened at $156.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $298.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.45. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $112.34 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $152.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter. Novartis had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 38.56%. The firm had revenue of $14.95 billion during the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

About Novartis

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company's activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.

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