Private Trust Co. NA Acquires 357 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,891 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Novartis were worth $713,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Essex Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.9% during the second quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 4,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.8% during the second quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.4% during the second quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% during the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.7% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,709,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $131.46 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $126.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.58. The stock has a market cap of $277.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.64. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $133.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $14.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.94 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 41.08%. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $123.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

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.