Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont reduced its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,185 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,749 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Novartis were worth $4,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 167.6% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,827,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,307 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 50.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,049,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,803,000 after buying an additional 686,847 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 99.0% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,661,000 after buying an additional 371,590 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 1,936.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 387,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,158,000 after buying an additional 368,778 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,003,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE NVS traded down $0.76 on Monday, reaching $104.96. 997,135 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,487,933. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.68. The stock has a market cap of $214.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The business had revenue of $11.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.50 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.67.

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.