Marietta Investment Partners LLC Lowers Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,814 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,340 shares during the period. Marietta Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $88,339,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock worth $194,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 128.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,554,000 after purchasing an additional 296,890 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth about $30,063,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

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Novartis Stock Performance

NVS stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $110.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,904,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,473,295. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.