Vident Advisory LLC Buys 2,837 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,337 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,837 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $2,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $113.04. 581,099 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,192,338. The company has a market capitalization of $238.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $109.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NVS. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.