Ameriprise Financial Inc. Trims Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 350,963 shares of the company's stock after selling 73,865 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $34,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS traded up $1.11 on Friday, reaching $109.57. 1,061,619 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,583,450. The stock has a market cap of $231.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $96.06 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $109.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's payout ratio is presently 40.47%.

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.