CNB Bank Sells 973 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

CNB Bank lowered its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,122 shares of the company’s stock after selling 973 shares during the period. CNB Bank’s holdings in Novartis were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Novartis by 15.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,225,000 after buying an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after acquiring an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,986,000 after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Novartis by 18.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,289,000 after purchasing an additional 123,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,610,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $97.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $200.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

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.