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

Eastern Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. FLC Capital Advisors lifted its stake in Novartis by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS remained flat at $99.08 during trading hours on Monday. 1,187,449 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,359,359. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.55 and a 200-day moving average of $109.29. The firm has a market cap of $202.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS 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.