Brown Advisory Inc. Has $21.65 Million Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Brown Advisory Inc. lessened its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 194,167 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,250 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $21,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.9% in the first quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its holdings in Novartis by 3.8% during the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,828 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 2.9% during the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,795 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the first quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock traded down $2.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $121.23. 1,878,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,586,947. The company has a market cap of $256.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $124.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.60.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. Novartis's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.67.

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.