Novartis AG $NVS Position Lifted by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,180 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the first quarter worth $25,000. Tsfg LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 366.0% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 66.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $120.33.

Novartis Stock Down 0.9%

Novartis stock opened at $130.48 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $275.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $127.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.60. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $133.55.

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.