Midwest Trust Co Lowers Stake in Novartis AG $NVS

Midwest Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 242,228 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,513 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Novartis were worth $37,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 537,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,935,000 after acquiring an additional 82,226 shares during the period. BXM Wealth LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 726.9% in the 4th quarter. BXM Wealth LLC now owns 42,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,903,000 after purchasing an additional 37,639 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Novartis by 2,561.0% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 38,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,375,000 after purchasing an additional 37,518 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Novartis by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 113,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,681,000 after purchasing an additional 14,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 401.0% during the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 54,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,547,000 after purchasing an additional 43,814 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.4%

NVS traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $154.06. 1,165,455 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,045,955. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $150.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $112.34 and a 52 week high of $170.46.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). Novartis had a return on equity of 38.82% and a net margin of 24.87%.The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. Novartis’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novartis to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.