Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Purchased by Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 67.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,759 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Novartis by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,183,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $796,372,000 after buying an additional 90,823 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Novartis by 16.0% in the fourth 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. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company's stock worth $207,522,000 after buying an additional 399,862 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $109,739,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.4%

NVS traded down $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $115.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,004,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,304. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $244.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $112.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.38.

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.