J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Purchases 4,969 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 92.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,349 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,969 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 366.0% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Novartis during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of 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 given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $117.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,455,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,856,137. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $124.83. The business's 50 day moving average price is $117.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.16. The company has a market cap of $248.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.59.

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

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.