Grove Bank & Trust Lowers Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Grove Bank & Trust lessened its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 177 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Novartis were worth $102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Novartis by 503.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Novartis by 782.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NVS. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE NVS opened at $97.51 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $199.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current 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.