Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 212,388 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,439 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $20,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Novartis Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NVS opened at $115.49 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.87. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

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.