Novartis AG $NVS Shares Bought by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 104,146 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,312 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $15,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 102.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,516,000 after acquiring an additional 11,444 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the first quarter worth $1,764,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 48.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at $202,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $153.28 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $112.34 and a fifty-two week high of $170.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $148.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $292.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

About Novartis

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.