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

Riversedge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $109,739,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 722,272 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 399,862 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 368,171 shares during the period. Finally, Coleford Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,824,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $119.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,484,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,588,315. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $116.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.07. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $124.83. 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 $252.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.59.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.70% and a return on equity of 39.44%. Novartis's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of 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 given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.