Deutsche Bank AG Boosts Stock Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Novartis AG by 5.2% during the first quarter, holding a total of 51,042 shares now valued at approximately $5.69 million.
• Recent activity from other institutional investors included Wealthcare Advisory Partners lifting holdings by 9% and Brighton Jones LLC increasing its stake by an impressive 76.5%.
• Analyst ratings for Novartis vary, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an upgraded price target of $123.00 from Morgan Stanley.

Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,042 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG's holdings in Novartis were worth $5,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE NVS traded up $1.0040 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $125.0140. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,028,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,504. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.62. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $125.62. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $118.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.23.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.50.

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.