CoreFirst Bank & Trust Acquires New Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in Novartis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 37,939 shares of the company's stock worth $3,692,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. FCA Corp TX grew its position in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 24,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,356,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 450,219 shares of the company's stock worth $43,811,000 after purchasing an additional 18,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management raised its holdings in Novartis by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 2,948 shares of the company's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy 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 an average price target of $123.38.

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Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $112.69. 2,537,924 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,493,163. The business has a 50 day moving average of $107.92 and a 200 day moving average of $107.19. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.69%.

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.