Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. trimmed its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,675 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after buying an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,990,000 after acquiring an additional 52,044 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $88,339,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Novartis by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 771,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,090,000 after acquiring an additional 27,092 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NVS. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 1.2 %

NVS opened at $112.69 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 one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $107.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.26.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 (DPR) is presently 42.69%.

Novartis Company 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.