Wesbanco Bank Inc. Trims Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. trimmed its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 405 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 503.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 280.5% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six 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 $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $99.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $100.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.75.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $12.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 34.80% and a net margin of 35.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.62 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.