Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stake Boosted by Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 55.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,261 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tsfg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 366.0% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 14.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 112,469 shares of the company's stock worth $12,328,000 after acquiring an additional 14,057 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Novartis by 6.5% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 11.4% during the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 8,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $992,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 25,767 shares of the company's stock worth $2,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded 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 given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $120.30 on Monday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $254.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.21. 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 (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS 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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