CENTRAL TRUST Co Trims Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lowered its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,068 shares of the company’s stock after selling 318 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Novartis were worth $813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,626,000 after buying an additional 1,389,610 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Novartis by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,568,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,473,000 after acquiring an additional 16,015 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its stake in Novartis by 40.1% during the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,065,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,819,000 after purchasing an additional 590,830 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 53.7% during the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,906,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,372,000 after purchasing an additional 666,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 191.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,904,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,318 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

Novartis Stock Up 0.6 %

Novartis stock opened at $113.80 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $116.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.42. The stock has a market cap of $232.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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.