12,237 Shares in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Bought by Kentucky Trust Co

Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 503.8% during the third 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 last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $107.73 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $220.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.42 EPS for the current 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.