Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Acquired by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. significantly increased its holdings in Novartis AG by 1,002.8% in the first quarter, owning 92,996 shares valued at over $10 million.
• Institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Dimensional Fund Advisors, have also boosted their positions in Novartis, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• Novartis reported earnings of $2.42 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and has a current market capitalization of $246.73 billion.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 1,002.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,996 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 84,563 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $10,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 60.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,660,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $408,071,000 after buying an additional 1,377,252 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Novartis by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,522,000 after buying an additional 399,862 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC grew its position in Novartis by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 1,258,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,313,000 after buying an additional 55,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $109,739,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $116.80 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.62. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $124.83. The company's fifty day moving average is $118.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.50.

About Novartis

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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