Park National Corp OH Sells 158 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Park National Corp OH cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,788 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $303,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after buying an additional 5,164 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 782.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 5.2% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.3% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.50.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $100.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 34.80%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.65 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.