Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 56,424 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments increased its Novartis stake by 40.4% in the second quarter, purchasing 56,424 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 195,986 shares valued at approximately $30.7 million.
• Other major institutional investors also expanded their Novartis positions, with hedge funds and institutional investors collectively owning 13.12% of the company.
• Novartis shares opened at $151.85, down 0.3%, while analysts’ consensus rating remained “Hold” with an average price target of $141.20. The company reported quarterly revenue of $14.95 billion and earnings of $2.41 per share.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 40.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 195,986 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,424 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $30,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,594,726 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter valued at approximately $220,004,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Novartis by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,876,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,223,860,000 after buying an additional 1,148,033 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,158,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,414,000 after buying an additional 895,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $108,638,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $151.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $153.68 and a 200 day moving average of $153.41. The company has a market cap of $289.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.45. 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 AG has a 12-month low of $120.78 and a 12-month high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter. Novartis had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 38.56%. The company had revenue of $14.95 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Profile

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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