Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Buys New Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Down 1.2%

NVS stock traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,276,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,583,414. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $111.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.98. The stock has a market cap of $252.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, 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 the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

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.