Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 9,381 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Captrust Financial Advisors decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,664 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,381 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in Novartis were worth $11,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $109,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $88,339,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,522,000 after purchasing an additional 399,862 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 368,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock worth $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $108.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,640,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,566,744. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $229.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The business's 50 day moving average is $110.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.89.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its 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 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%. The business's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 currently 40.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.