Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Novartis AG by 12.2%, now owning 185,603 shares valued at approximately $20.69 million.
• Several hedge funds also acquired or increased their positions in Novartis during the first quarter, with Goldman Sachs increasing its stake by 60.3% to 3,660,485 shares worth around $408.07 million.
• Novartis reported $2.42 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and its revenue increased by 12.3% compared to the previous year, reaching $14.05 billion.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 185,603 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,161 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $20,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $224,000. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 10.1% in the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 10,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 60.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,660,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $408,071,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377,252 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 46.9% during the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,129 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 281.2% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the company's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, 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 research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $126.8240 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $119.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $127.68.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current 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.

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