Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 540,312 shares of the company's stock after selling 240,668 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Novartis were worth $52,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth $21,078,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,947 shares of the company's stock valued at $914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 12,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,596 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $427,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 14.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 93,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,729,000 after purchasing an additional 12,118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $109.93. The company had a trading volume of 772,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,553,367. The stock has a market cap of $224.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The business's 50-day moving average is $108.95 and its 200-day moving average is $106.33.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.