Private Trust Co. NA Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,176 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 355 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Novartis were worth $504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on NVS. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $109.06 on Friday. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $102.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $222.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS 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.