Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by First Financial Bankshares Inc

Key Points

• First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its holdings in Novartis AG by 1.3% in Q1, acquiring an additional 2,834 shares, bringing its total to 217,419 shares valued at approximately $24.24 million.
• Novartis recently reported $2.42 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.38, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.3%.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Hold" for Novartis shares, with a target price averaging $123.50, reflecting a mixed outlook on the stock's performance.

First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 217,419 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,834 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc's holdings in Novartis were worth $24,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $0.26 on Thursday, hitting $128.49. 1,486,645 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,918,919. The stock has a market cap of $271.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm's 50-day moving average is $121.06 and its 200 day moving average is $114.94. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $129.21.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.50.

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.