Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 5,083 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 140,753 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,083 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $15,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Novartis by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,183,855 shares of the company's stock worth $796,372,000 after purchasing an additional 90,823 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company's stock worth $259,706,000 after buying an additional 368,171 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock worth $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $109,739,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BNP Paribas raised shares of 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 issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS traded up $1.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $118.91. 1,040,233 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,581,506. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $113.22 and a 200 day moving average of $107.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59.

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

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.