LPL Financial LLC Buys 15,776 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG by 3.5% in Q1, now owning 465,995 shares valued at approximately $51.95 million.
• Novartis reported $2.42 EPS for Q2, surpassing analysts’ expectations, with revenues of $14.05 billion, a 12.3% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Novartis, with the stock holding a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.67.

LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 465,995 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,776 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $51,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 76.5% in 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 period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Novartis by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,142 shares of the company's stock worth $41,176,000 after acquiring an additional 111,066 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Novartis by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 47,158 shares of the company's stock worth $4,589,000 after acquiring an additional 12,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 4,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $113.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $124.83. The business's 50-day moving average price is $117.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.54.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.67.

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.

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