Heck Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Novartis by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,183,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $796,372,000 after buying an additional 90,823 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company's stock worth $259,706,000 after buying an additional 368,171 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Novartis by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company's stock worth $207,522,000 after purchasing an additional 399,862 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock worth $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares during the period. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company's stock worth $112,990,000 after purchasing an additional 52,044 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NVS. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded down $1.33 on Wednesday, hitting $111.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,542,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,590,156. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $109.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.97. 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 stock has a market cap of $236.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Novartis's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

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.