Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,508 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,381 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $5,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its stake in Novartis by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 5,694 shares of the company's stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 12,786 shares of the company's stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Novartis by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,501 shares of the company's stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC now owns 42,016 shares of the company's stock worth $4,686,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 195,457 shares of the company's stock worth $21,790,000 after purchasing an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $117.99. 1,095,289 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,585,556. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $111.14 and a 200 day moving average of $106.86.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share 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.