Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $6.52 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 44.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,465 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,462 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $6,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $120.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,540,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,582,167. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $122.75. The firm's fifty day moving average is $113.76 and its 200 day moving average is $107.94.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion for 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%. The business's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.