Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,468 shares of the company’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.4% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 9.3% in the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 1.1 %

NVS opened at $115.70 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $113.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 33.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays raised Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.70.

About Novartis

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.