Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stake Lessened by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,743 shares of the company’s stock after selling 618 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 1.0 %

NVS stock opened at $112.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $106.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors 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 payout ratio is presently 42.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group reissued 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 issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.