J Hagan Capital Inc. Makes New Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

J Hagan Capital Inc. bought a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 3,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,981 shares of the company's stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,975 shares of the company's stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 266,088 shares of the company's stock worth $29,663,000 after purchasing an additional 7,864 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in Novartis by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 8,960 shares of the company's stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. Finally, Callan Capital LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 47.4% during the first quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 16,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 5,366 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $122.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,192,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,583,959. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $124.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $115.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.67.

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.