Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 6,605 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,682 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,605 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 257.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,702 shares of the company's stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 6,990 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 21,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,449,000 after acquiring an additional 3,372 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,099 shares of the company's stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IAM Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.5% in the third quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 14,913 shares of the company's stock worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. HSBC lowered Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Novartis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock traded up $3.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,027,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,897,807. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $100.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.41. The company has a market cap of $223.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.79% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.