Cresset Asset Management LLC Has $13.13 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Key Points

• Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG by 209.5% in the first quarter, now owning 113,833 shares valued at approximately $13.13 million.
• Wall Street analysts have provided a mixed outlook on Novartis, with Morgan Stanley upgrading the stock to an "equal weight" rating and setting a target price of $123.00.
• Novartis reported earnings of $2.42 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and achieved a revenue of $14.05 billion, a year-over-year increase of 12.3%.

Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 209.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,833 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 77,048 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $13,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT raised its stake in Novartis by 6.3% during the first quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 2,697 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Novartis by 5.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,606,724 shares of the company's stock worth $959,535,000 after acquiring an additional 422,869 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 1.3% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 29,289 shares of the company's stock worth $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. raised its stake in Novartis by 23.1% during the first quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 17,840 shares of the company's stock worth $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 3,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 10.6% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 54,162 shares of the company's stock worth $6,038,000 after acquiring an additional 5,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $124.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $262.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock's 50-day moving average is $118.67 and its 200-day moving average is $113.04. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $124.83.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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