First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Buys 706 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 35.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,684 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Novartis by 782.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $101.85 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $100.10 and its 200 day moving average is $108.64. The company has a market cap of $208.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57.

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

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.