Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Mill Capital Management LLC

Mill Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,483 shares during the quarter. Mill Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 1.0 %

Novartis stock opened at $112.11 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $229.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $106.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.32. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS 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%. On average, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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