Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Dodge & Cox

Dodge & Cox lowered its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,214,665 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,211 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox owned about 0.60% of Novartis worth $1,188,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NVS traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.69. 1,577,944 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,557,904. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $226.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $94.72 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.27.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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%.

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.