Riversedge Advisors LLC Takes $264,000 Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Riversedge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,176,000 after acquiring an additional 111,066 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 165,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,099,000 after acquiring an additional 8,186 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $9,365,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 9.0% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.8% during the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE:NVS opened at $120.93 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $124.83. The business's 50-day moving average price is $116.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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