Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Sells 22,499 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lowered its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,029 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,499 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE's holdings in Novartis were worth $4,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company's stock worth $8,668,000 after buying an additional 18,894 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company's stock worth $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Novartis by 135.5% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 22,998 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 13.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company's stock worth $18,088,000 after purchasing an additional 18,990 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC cut Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 1.2 %

Novartis stock traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $112.69. 2,537,924 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,493,163. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $230.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $107.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.13. 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 (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.69%.

Novartis 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.