Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 20,179 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 102.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,951 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,179 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in Novartis were worth $4,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,176,000 after acquiring an additional 111,066 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 13,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 2,635 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 450,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,811,000 after acquiring an additional 18,630 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Novartis Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NVS opened at $114.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $241.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.59. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $124.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $116.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.52.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 41.09% and a net margin of 25.64%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. Novartis's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current 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.

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