Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Sells 775 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,298 shares of the company’s stock after selling 775 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $101.80 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.70. 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 capitalization of $208.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

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.