Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 77.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,953 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,343 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,516,000 after buying an additional 11,444 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $154.91 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $112.34 and a 52 week high of $170.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $295.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $148.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.