Novartis AG $NVS Shares Acquired by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

Key Points

• DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Novartis AG by 8.9%, acquiring a total of 33,683 shares valued at approximately $4.08 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• A variety of hedge funds have modified their positions in Novartis, reflecting growing interest among institutional investors, who currently hold 13.12% of the company's stock.
• Novartis reported a quarterly earnings of $2.42 per share, exceeding expectations, with revenue rising 12.3% year-over-year, totaling $14.05 billion.

DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 8.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,683 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,758 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $4,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $266,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 16.8% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 47,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,849 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at about $1,909,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 10.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 33,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,710,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 9.0% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $118.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Novartis Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NVS opened at $131.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.64. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $133.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $124.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.