Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 337,373 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,884 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $37,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 366.0% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $120.93 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $116.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.75. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $124.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.70% and a return on equity of 39.44%. Novartis's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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