Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 790 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.1% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in Novartis by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $115.60 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $104.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.95. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $236.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 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.