Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Has $3.92 Million Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,163 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,337 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV's holdings in Novartis were worth $3,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $119.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,276,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,471. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The firm's 50 day moving average is $111.84 and its 200-day moving average is $107.10.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.