Ieq Capital LLC Has $1.55 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG by 17.1% during the first quarter, bringing their total to 13,899 shares valued at approximately $1.55 million.
• Novartis is currently rated as a "Hold" by analysts, with a consensus price target of $123.50 following various ratings adjustments from firms such as Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley.
• The company reported strong earnings with a net margin of 25.64% and a 12.3% year-over-year revenue growth, totaling $14.05 billion for the last quarter.

Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,899 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 11.1% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,600 shares of the company's stock worth $4,303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Novartis by 17.2% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 3,032 shares of the company's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Novartis by 856.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,507 shares of the company's stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 6,722 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $124.33.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $1.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $129.76. 1,339,523 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,115,365. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $121.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.15. The stock has a market cap of $274.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.63. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $130.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

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

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.