HB Wealth Management LLC Acquires 4,549 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG by 67.5% during the 1st quarter, now owning 11,293 shares valued at approximately $1.26 million.
• Novartis reported $2.42 EPS for its latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 12.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $14.05 billion.
• BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating, while the stock holds an average rating of "Hold" with a target price of $123.67.

HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 67.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,293 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,549 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,142 shares of the company's stock worth $41,176,000 after purchasing an additional 111,066 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 33,621 shares of the company's stock worth $3,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,565 shares of the company's stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $115.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,927,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,019,942. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $124.83. The company has a market capitalization of $243.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $117.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.54.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BNP Paribas raised shares of 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 assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.