Eastern Bank Has $9.01 Million Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Eastern Bank lowered its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 46.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 92,566 shares of the company's stock after selling 79,381 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in Novartis were worth $9,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,407,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $788,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,610 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 15.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,706,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,225,000 after purchasing an additional 231,851 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company's stock worth $107,986,000 after buying an additional 26,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company's stock worth $90,289,000 after buying an additional 123,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE NVS traded up $0.12 on Monday, hitting $99.20. 1,467,207 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,416,144. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $202.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $101.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.24.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NVS. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $121.50.

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.