Federated Hermes Inc. Has $8.59 Million Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,255 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,233 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $8,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,990,000 after buying an additional 52,044 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $88,339,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Novartis by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 771,655 shares of the company's stock worth $75,090,000 after acquiring an additional 27,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Novartis by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 531,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 587,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,331,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $226.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $109.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.36.

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 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%. As a group, 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 declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors 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 payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.38.

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.