Sowell Financial Services LLC Acquires Shares of 6,481 Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $722,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $115.62. 2,473,240 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,584,159. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $244.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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