47,989 Shares in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Purchased by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 47,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,350,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,276,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,583,414. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $111.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.98. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $252.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.38.

About Novartis

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.