Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 27.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,628 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,389 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 1.2%

Novartis stock traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.34. 1,276,426 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,583,414. The company's fifty day moving average price is $111.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.09. The company has a market cap of $252.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. The company 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 posted $1.80 EPS. Novartis's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.