Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank Raises Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 13.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,346 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank’s holdings in Novartis were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 9.1% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 129,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,861,000 after buying an additional 10,763 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at $2,371,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 3.4% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 32,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at $30,063,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.3 %

NVS stock opened at $101.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 company earned $1.74 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

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.