Foster Group Inc. Has $339,000 Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Foster Group Inc. raised its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 43.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,039 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 916 shares during the quarter. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Novartis by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,183,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,372,000 after purchasing an additional 90,823 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,706,000 after buying an additional 368,171 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position 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 valued at $207,522,000 after buying an additional 399,862 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,990,000 after buying an additional 52,044 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $118.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.62 and a 200-day moving average of $106.56. The company has a market capitalization of $249.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Company Profile

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.