Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY

Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY decreased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 642,755 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,654 shares during the quarter. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY's holdings in Novartis were worth $64,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,904 shares of the company's stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth $6,568,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 368.3% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,251 shares of the company's stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15,927 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Novartis by 8.1% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,763 shares of the company's stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 3.4% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,544 shares of the company's stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. HSBC cut Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Novartis in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.33.

Novartis Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $93.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,099,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,517,855. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15. The business's 50-day moving average price is $99.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.24. The company has a market cap of $198.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.54.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 29.90%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Novartis's previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a yield of 3.1%. Novartis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.26%.

Novartis Profile

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It 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.