Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,596 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,155 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $8,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded down $2.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $106.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,750,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,844. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $110.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $225.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's payout ratio is 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.