Capital Advisors Inc. OK Acquires New Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Novartis by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,828 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 2.9% in the 1st 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 increased its position in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,515 shares of the company's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NVS traded down $2.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $120.90. The company had a trading volume of 366,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,067. The company's 50 day moving average price is $115.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.60. The stock has a market cap of $255.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $124.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a net margin of 24.70% and a return on equity of 39.44%. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.67.

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.