Patten & Patten Inc. TN Has $2.93 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN cut its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,060 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,625 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN's holdings in Novartis were worth $2,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NVS. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

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Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $113.35. 5,885,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,458,279. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $106.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's payout ratio is presently 42.69%.

Novartis Company 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.