Camden National Bank Lowers Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Camden National Bank reduced its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,509 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the period. Camden National Bank’s holdings in Novartis were worth $7,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $195,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Haven Private LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $286,000. Bradyco Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $700,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 10,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $115.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $104.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.02. The company has a market capitalization of $236.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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.