Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 16,678 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 212,316 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,678 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $23,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.6% during the first quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $700,000. Acorn Creek Capital LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 3,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.6% in the first quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 76,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its position in Novartis by 2.4% during the first quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 79,612 shares of the company's stock worth $8,875,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock traded up $2.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $120.36. 1,638,373 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,582,332. 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 $121.15. The company has a market cap of $254.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.94.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.70% and a return on equity of 39.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.