Independence Bank of Kentucky Reduces Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $118.02 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $110.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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.