Fifth Third Bancorp Has $4.32 Million Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,342 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,959 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. apricus wealth LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 21,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in Novartis by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 3,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 7,220.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 2,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NVS. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated 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 six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $99.93 on Monday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $100.09 and a 200-day moving average of $108.69. The company has a market capitalization of $204.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.57.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.12. The firm 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Company 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.