Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC Acquires 3,149 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,885 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,149 shares during the quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $2,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 1,275.0% during the 1st quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 495 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 19.6% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the company's stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.4% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 28,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,218,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 25.9% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,520 shares of the company's stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 53.8% during the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 4,190 shares of the company's stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded up $0.75 on Thursday, hitting $123.69. 1,667,435 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,585,615. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $125.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50 day moving average price is $115.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.79.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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 assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.67.

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.