Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Interchange Capital Partners LLC

Interchange Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,074 shares of the company’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,950 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,990,000 after purchasing an additional 52,044 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $88,339,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Novartis by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,289,000 after buying an additional 123,077 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $111.14 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $106.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.29. The stock has a market cap of $227.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

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.