New York State Common Retirement Fund Buys 3,753 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,298 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,753 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Novartis were worth $13,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 200.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 47.4% in the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on NVS shares. Bank of America raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $112.00 target price on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Cfra set a $126.00 price objective on Novartis and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Novartis Trading Up 1.6%

NVS opened at $151.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $138.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.95. Novartis AG has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $152.48. The stock has a market cap of $319.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.50.

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.