Primecap Management Co. CA Has $1.16 Billion Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its stake in Novartis AG by 5.8%, selling 642,160 shares, and currently owns approximately 10.38 million shares valued at $1.16 billion.
• Novartis reported a quarterly EPS of $2.42, surpassing analyst expectations, with a revenue of $14.05 billion, reflecting a 12.3% year-over-year increase.
• Analysts have given Novartis an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.67, with recent upgrades leading it to a "strong buy" rating from BNP Paribas.

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,382,879 shares of the company's stock after selling 642,160 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.49% of Novartis worth $1,157,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 9.0% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 13,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 2,635 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Novartis by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,600 shares of the company's stock worth $4,303,000 after acquiring an additional 3,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Novartis by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 3,032 shares of the company's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Novartis from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $123.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.50.

Novartis Stock Up 0.8%

NVS stock traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $116.80. 1,585,010 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,143,527. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $124.83. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $118.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.27. The firm has a market cap of $246.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.62.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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.