M&T Bank Corp Has $15.48 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

M&T Bank Corp decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 159,106 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,960 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $15,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

Novartis stock opened at $111.85 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $103.38 and a 200-day moving average of $107.98. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one 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 cap of $228.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

About Novartis

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.