Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $47.87 Million Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 427,918 shares of the company's stock after selling 100,764 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $47,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.9% during the first quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.8% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,828 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company's stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis by 2.9% in the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $120.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $254.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.59. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Novartis's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

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.

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