Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Acquired by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,041 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 129.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 98,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,560,000 after purchasing an additional 55,581 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 327,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,880,000 after acquiring an additional 16,901 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Novartis by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,538 shares during the period. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. purchased a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $232,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $119.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $252.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.10.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.