Barclays PLC Sells 8,738 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Barclays PLC lowered its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 86.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,314 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,738 shares during the period. Barclays PLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $105.18 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $222.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's fifty day moving average is $109.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

About Novartis

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.

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