Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 46,833 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 38.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,888 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,833 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD's holdings in Novartis were worth $7,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. SIH Partners LLLP bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $2,472,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Novartis by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 221,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,545,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Novartis by 10,877.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,197 shares of the company's stock worth $1,090,000 after buying an additional 11,095 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 246,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,963,000 after buying an additional 16,450 shares during the period. Finally, Seaview Investment Managers LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Seaview Investment Managers LLC now owns 97,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,471,000 after buying an additional 14,518 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock traded down $2.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $110.73. 2,232,454 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,563,549. The company has a market cap of $233.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $110.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.95. 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 issued 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. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's payout ratio is 40.47%.

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.