Bessemer Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its Novartis stake by 46.1% in the first quarter, adding 18,649 shares to reach 59,061 shares valued at about $9.0 million.
• Novartis reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $1.99 per share missing estimates while revenue of $13.52 billion slightly beat expectations; revenue was down 0.9% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment is split: analysts currently have a consensus "Hold" rating on NVS, even though Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $170 and seven analysts rate it a Buy.

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 46.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,061 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,649 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC increased its position in Novartis by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the company's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 710 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Abundance Wealth Counselors raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 16,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,334,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $153.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.85. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $112.34 and a 1 year high of $170.46. The firm has a market cap of $293.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.69.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The business's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Novartis Company 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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