16,264 Shares in Novartis AG $NVS Acquired by Dorsey Wright & Associates

Key Points

• Dorsey Wright & Associates initiated a new position in Novartis during the first quarter, buying 16,264 shares worth about $2.48 million.
• Institutional activity around Novartis has been mixed, but hedge funds and other institutional investors still own about 13.12% of the company.
• Analysts are divided on the stock: Novartis currently carries an average Hold rating with a consensus price target of $141.20, even as Morgan Stanley recently raised its target to $170.

Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,484,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Archer Investment Corp boosted its stake in Novartis by 93.0% in the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 166 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust raised its holdings in Novartis by 425.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novartis from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE NVS opened at $153.78 on Friday. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $151.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.61. The stock has a market cap of $293.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.45. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $112.34 and a 52 week high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.76 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.

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