Commerce Bank Purchases 2,581 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Commerce Bank boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,813 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Novartis were worth $2,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 5.0% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 29,247 shares of the company's stock worth $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares in the last quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 2.7% in the first quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 132,823 shares of the company's stock worth $14,807,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares in the last quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 6.9% in the first quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,544 shares of the company's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter valued at $251,000. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.2% during the first quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 18,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,111,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $115.25 on Monday. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $124.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $117.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.83. The company has a market capitalization of $243.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.62.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.08% and a net margin of 25.64%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. Novartis's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.67.

About Novartis

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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