Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 26,789 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 27.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,030 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,789 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $13,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Tsfg LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 366.0% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NVS traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $117.62. 2,455,923 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,856,137. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.16. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $124.83. The company has a market cap of $248.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.59.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.67.

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.