HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Sells 423 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 423 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 4,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 47,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 12,184 shares during the period. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,099,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $140,000. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $931,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 1.8 %

NVS stock opened at $109.49 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $223.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $108.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 42.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.