Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Novartis AG by 11.6%, owning 34,277 shares valued at $3,821,000 as of the latest quarter.
• BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating, with a consensus average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $123.67.
• Novartis reported a 12.3% increase in revenue year-over-year, achieving $14.05 billion and earnings per share of $2.42, surpassing analyst expectations.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 11.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,277 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,562 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Tsfg LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 366.0% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $116.65. 659,037 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,021,587. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $124.83. 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 stock has a market cap of $246.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $117.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.24.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. Novartis's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.67.

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.