D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 65,251 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

D.A. Davidson & CO. trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 399,331 shares of the company's stock after selling 65,251 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $44,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Intergy Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company's stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.9% during the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas raised 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 assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $123.83 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.67 and a 200 day moving average of $108.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $261.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.59. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $124.45.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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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