Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Novartis AG by 34.1% during the first quarter, bringing its total value to $942,000.
• Novartis reported $2.42 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.04, with revenue rising by 12.3% year-over-year.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on Novartis, with an average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $123.67, while BNP Paribas has upgraded it to a "strong-buy" rating.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 34.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,446 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,148 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 3.9% in the first quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Novartis by 3.8% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,828 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 2.9% in the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,795 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,515 shares of the company's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $117.07. 694,148 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,016,516. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $124.83. The company's 50-day moving average price is $117.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.40. The company has a market cap of $247.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.59.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. Novartis's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.67.

Novartis 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.