Scharf Investments LLC Has $140.31 Million Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Scharf Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,258,639 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,316 shares during the period. Novartis makes up 4.3% of Scharf Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned 0.06% of Novartis worth $140,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NVS traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $120.36. 1,638,373 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,582,333. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $254.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $113.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.94. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 24.70%. The company's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas raised 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 assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

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.