Two Sigma Investments LP Has $5.28 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 91.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,289 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,915 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Novartis were worth $5,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Novartis by 1.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 368,171 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company's stock worth $207,522,000 after purchasing an additional 399,862 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock worth $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,990,000 after purchasing an additional 52,044 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NVS traded up $3.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $115.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,448,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,588. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $244.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.01. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.