Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Buys 11,726 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Key Points

• Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its stake in Novartis AG by 3.6% in Q1, now holding 338,257 shares valued at approximately $37.88 million, representing 1.9% of its portfolio.
• Other institutional investors, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and Renaissance Technologies, also raised their holdings in Novartis, contributing to a growing interest from hedge funds and institutional investors, which own 13.12% of the stock.
• Novartis reported a strong earnings performance for Q2 with an EPS of $2.42, exceeding expectations, and analysts have set an average price target of $123.67 for the stock.

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 338,257 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,726 shares during the quarter. Novartis makes up approximately 1.9% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $37,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Novartis by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,176,000 after buying an additional 111,066 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,041 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 13,721 shares of the company's stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Novartis by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,600 shares of the company's stock worth $4,303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.67.

Novartis Trading Up 1.3%

Novartis stock traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $115.25. 1,927,789 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,958,642. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $117.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $124.83.

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

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.