Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG by 17.8%, acquiring 2,200 additional shares for a total value of approximately $1.76 million.
• Novartis recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.42, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.38, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 12.3%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Novartis' stock, with ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell and an average price target of $120.33.

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC raised its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,561 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,606,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $959,535,000 after purchasing an additional 422,869 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 60.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,660,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $408,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377,252 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.2% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,180,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,058,000 after acquiring an additional 47,690 shares during the period. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 12,664.1% during the first quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 1,383,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372,407 shares during the period. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.6% during the first quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 1,258,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,313,000 after acquiring an additional 55,316 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $124.12 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.63. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $130.46. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $121.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.84.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $120.33.

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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