CWA Asset Management Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 22.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,646 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,806 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $4,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,176,000 after buying an additional 111,066 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 129.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 98,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,560,000 after acquiring an additional 55,581 shares during the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Novartis by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 77,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,569,000 after acquiring an additional 3,345 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 165,442 shares of the company's stock worth $16,099,000 after purchasing an additional 8,186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $115.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,004,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,306. The company has a 50 day moving average of $112.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.27. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $244.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59.

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 return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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 research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

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.