Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Park National Corp OH

Park National Corp OH trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,034 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,878 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,873,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,009,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $534,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS opened at $104.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $214.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.73.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The business had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.50 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.67.

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.