Callan Capital LLC Grows Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Callan Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 47.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,685 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,366 shares during the quarter. Callan Capital LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $97,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 165,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,099,000 after acquiring an additional 8,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,365,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $122.44. The stock had a trading volume of 289,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,915. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $115.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.59. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $124.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.