Fiduciary Trust Co Grows Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Fiduciary Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,957 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the second quarter valued at $35,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE NVS opened at $104.87 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $214.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $110.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.16.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company 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 company earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share 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.