Assetmark Inc. Has $25.76 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 223,996 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,290 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $25,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 191.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after buying an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,372,000 after buying an additional 666,104 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,610,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Novartis by 343.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,652,000 after buying an additional 509,567 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $106.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.62. The stock has a market cap of $217.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current 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.