Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Has $14.86 Million Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,308 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,590 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $14,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the first quarter worth $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE NVS traded up $1.79 on Monday, reaching $117.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,149,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,583,548. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $113.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $248.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.