Personal CFO Solutions LLC Acquires 8,720 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Key Points

• Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its Novartis stake by 280.3% in the first quarter, buying 8,720 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 11,831 shares valued at about $1.81 million.
• Other institutional investors also held significant positions in Novartis, and institutions collectively own 13.12% of the company’s stock.
• Novartis shares were down 1.1% to $155.28, while the company’s latest earnings missed EPS estimates even though revenue came in slightly above expectations; analysts currently have a Hold consensus rating on the stock.

Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 280.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,831 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,720 shares during the quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Novartis by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,876,906 shares of the company's stock worth $1,223,860,000 after buying an additional 1,148,033 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,465,850 shares of the company's stock worth $1,029,317,000 after purchasing an additional 226,484 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Novartis by 13,687.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,628,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $638,103,000 after purchasing an additional 4,594,726 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,605,878 shares of the company's stock valued at $590,658,000 after purchasing an additional 78,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,479,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,562,000 after purchasing an additional 419,988 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $155.28 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average is $150.45 and its 200-day moving average is $150.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.85. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $112.34 and a 52 week high of $170.46. The company has a market capitalization of $296.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.45.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novartis from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Argus upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.20.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company's activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.

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