First PREMIER Bank Decreases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

First PREMIER Bank reduced its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,175 shares of the company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Novartis were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in 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 about $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 280.5% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 1.6 %

NVS stock opened at $98.17 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $200.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $100.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.88.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.