Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Purchases 2,412 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Novartis AG by 2.8% during the first quarter, owning a total of 87,194 shares valued at approximately $9.72 million as of their latest filing.
• Goldman Sachs raised its holdings in Novartis by 60.3%, now owning nearly 3.66 million shares worth about $408.07 million, highlighting significant institutional interest in the stock.
• Novartis reported a 12.3% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, totaling $14.05 billion, and earnings per share of $2.42 which exceeded analysts' expectations.

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,194 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in Novartis by 9.0% during the first 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 last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Novartis by 11.1% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,303,000 after buying an additional 3,846 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Novartis by 17.2% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 3,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Novartis by 856.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $837,000 after buying an additional 6,722 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley upgraded Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS traded up $0.1210 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $126.9410. The company had a trading volume of 1,339,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,553,184. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $128.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $119.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.73. The company has a market cap of $268.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.62.

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

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.