Coastline Trust Co Increases Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Coastline Trust Co lifted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,621 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,060 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co's holdings in Novartis were worth $2,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1,029.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 4,333 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 30.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 28.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 6.1% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,046 shares of the company's stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 5,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on NVS. Bank of America cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Novartis stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $103.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,452,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,345,274. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $210.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.63 earnings per share 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.