Private Trust Co. NA Acquires 355 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,821 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Novartis were worth $555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Novartis by 23.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after buying an additional 1,389,610 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 191.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,610,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Novartis by 343.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 657,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,652,000 after purchasing an additional 509,567 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in Novartis by 10,528.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,511,000 after buying an additional 321,121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $103.80 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $111.36 and its 200 day moving average is $110.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $212.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Company 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.