Whittier Trust Co. Has $5.48 Million Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,605 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 663 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $149,000. Arlington Partners LLC increased its position in Novartis by 20.6% during the third quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 37,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,320,000 after acquiring an additional 6,404 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Novartis by 2,949.0% during the third quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 5,898 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $264,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Novartis by 425.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 42,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,926,000 after acquiring an additional 34,685 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 1.2 %

NVS opened at $115.76 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $116.39 and its 200-day moving average is $108.22. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $236.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NVS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

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.