Thomasville National Bank Sells 380 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Thomasville National Bank trimmed its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,944 shares of the company’s stock after selling 380 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Novartis were worth $286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Novartis by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 11,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 6,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 7,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $303,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $99.20 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $101.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.24. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $202.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.65 EPS for the current 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.