QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Novartis stake by 9.0% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 164,478 shares valued at approximately $25.8 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is Hold, with six Buy ratings and ten Hold ratings and an average price target of $153.
• Novartis shares traded at $142.60, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company reported quarterly revenue of $14.95 billion and earnings of $2.41 per share.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 9.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,478 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,634 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $25,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,962,794 shares of the company's stock worth $758,067,000 after buying an additional 413,778 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Novartis by 13,687.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,628,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $638,103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,594,726 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,479,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,562,000 after acquiring an additional 419,988 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 0.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,330,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $365,308,000 after acquiring an additional 19,595 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 1.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,275,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,649,000 after acquiring an additional 41,520 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued a "sector perform" rating on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Novartis from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $123.00 to $136.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $153.00.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $142.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,518,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,007,071. The firm's fifty day moving average is $152.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.62. The company has a market capitalization of $272.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.45. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $121.57 and a 52-week high of $170.46. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $14.95 billion for the quarter. Novartis had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 38.56%. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.87 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Profile

Novartis AG NYSE: NVS is a Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative medicines. The company's portfolio addresses major disease areas including cardiovascular, renal and metabolic conditions, immunology, neuroscience, oncology and hematology.

Novartis markets medicines such as Entresto for certain heart conditions, Cosentyx for inflammatory diseases, Kisqali for breast cancer, Kesimpta for multiple sclerosis, Leqvio for cholesterol management, Pluvicto for certain prostate cancers and Scemblix for chronic myeloid leukemia.

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