Quantinno Capital Management LP Acquires 39,537 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Quantinno Capital Management increased its Novartis stake by 13.1% in the first quarter, acquiring 39,537 shares for a total of 340,728 shares valued at approximately $52.0 million.
• Several major institutions also expanded their Novartis positions, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 13.12% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans moderately positive: seven analysts rate Novartis a Buy, seven Hold, and two Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and a $141.20 target price. Shares recently opened at $158.82, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.41 on $14.95 billion in revenue.

Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 340,728 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,537 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Novartis were worth $52,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,876,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,223,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,033 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,465,850 shares of the company's stock worth $1,029,317,000 after buying an additional 226,484 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 13,687.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,628,296 shares of the company's stock worth $638,103,000 after buying an additional 4,594,726 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,605,878 shares of the company's stock valued at $590,658,000 after buying an additional 78,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,479,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,562,000 after buying an additional 419,988 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Novartis Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NVS opened at $158.82 on Thursday. 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 $112.34 and a 12 month high of $170.46. The firm's 50 day moving average is $152.44 and its 200-day moving average is $152.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $14.95 billion for the quarter. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.56% and a net margin of 23.29%. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.8 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.