Eastern Bank Cuts Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Eastern Bank decreased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 46.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,566 shares of the company’s stock after selling 79,381 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 280.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS remained flat at $99.08 on Monday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,187,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,359,359. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.29. The company has a market cap of $202.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NVS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated 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 seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

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.