Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Novartis AG by 69.3%, owning 17,047 shares valued at approximately $1.9 million after acquiring an additional 6,977 shares.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions on Novartis, with ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell, while the company has a consensus target price of $123.50.
• Novartis stock reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.42 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with total revenue of $14.05 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 12.3%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 69.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,047 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,977 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 237,841 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,515,000 after buying an additional 2,488 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 396,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,203,000 after buying an additional 5,329 shares in the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,370 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $126.41. 761,159 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,348,956. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $128.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $267.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $120.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.36.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.50.

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.