Novartis AG $NVS Shares Sold by AMG National Trust Bank

AMG National Trust Bank reduced its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,756 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $266,000. Cypress Capital Group boosted its position in Novartis by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 5,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Novartis by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 47,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after buying an additional 6,849 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,909,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 33,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,076,000 after buying an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $123.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $127.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.13. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $133.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.64.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.01). Novartis had a return on equity of 41.21% and a net margin of 26.49%.The business had revenue of $13.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price target (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.33.

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.