Berkshire Bank Cuts Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Berkshire Bank trimmed its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,626 shares of the company’s stock after selling 596 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Novartis were worth $353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,668,000 after buying an additional 18,894 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,887,000 after buying an additional 1,549 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 3,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Advisors MI increased its stake in Novartis by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 4,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $103.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $211.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.69. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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.