Crews Bank & Trust Buys Shares of 745 Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,668,000 after acquiring an additional 18,894 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Novartis by 115.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 231,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,797,000 after purchasing an additional 124,111 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Novartis by 135.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 22,998 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after purchasing an additional 18,990 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $104.65 on Friday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.50. The company has a market capitalization of $213.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. As a group, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

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.