Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 20,417 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 46.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,925 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,417 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Novartis were worth $2,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 129.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 98,412 shares of the company's stock worth $9,560,000 after purchasing an additional 55,581 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Novartis by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 327,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,880,000 after purchasing an additional 16,901 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,173 shares of the company's stock worth $1,093,000 after buying an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $118.77. 316,229 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,574,684. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $111.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.12. The company has a market capitalization of $250.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.59. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Novartis's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.