9,619 Shares in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Purchased by Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $109,739,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 14,376.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,079,000 after buying an additional 722,272 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Novartis by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,522,000 after buying an additional 399,862 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,706,000 after buying an additional 368,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coleford Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,824,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE NVS traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.23. The company had a trading volume of 2,546,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,610,607. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $124.83. The company has a market capitalization of $241.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm's 50 day moving average is $116.57 and its 200 day moving average is $110.31.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.67.

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.