Bangor Savings Bank Cuts Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Bangor Savings Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,381 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,097 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank’s holdings in Novartis were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $109,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $88,339,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 14,376.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 727,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,079,000 after buying an additional 722,272 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,522,000 after acquiring an additional 399,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,706,000 after acquiring an additional 368,171 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $118.02 on Friday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.59. The company has a market capitalization of $249.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.