American Century Companies Inc. Sells 55,825 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 453,393 shares of the company's stock after selling 55,825 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $44,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reissued 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 report on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC cut Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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Novartis Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:NVS traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $109.49. 1,954,308 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,501,737. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $108.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. 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 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders 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.