Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp decreased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,066 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,525 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Novartis were worth $18,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Abel Hall LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 118.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 4,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 2,566 shares during the period. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 2.2% during the third quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 9,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at $21,078,000. Finally, EWA LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 12.8% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.50.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.17. 1,024,069 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,328,736. The company has a market cap of $202.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's 50 day moving average is $108.87 and its 200 day moving average is $110.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.66 EPS 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.