Kentucky Trust Co Buys Shares of 12,237 Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,191,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 11,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 20,873 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,401,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 997 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its position in Novartis by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,679 shares of the company's stock worth $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $2.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $105.43. 1,271,629 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,043,258. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $100.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.30. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $215.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.