Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Sells 405 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. cut its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,840 shares of the company’s stock after selling 405 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after buying an additional 70,314 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position 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 during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 123,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,610,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Down 0.4 %

NVS stock opened at $97.51 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $100.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.