Banco de Sabadell S.A Has $670,000 Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Banco de Sabadell S.A trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,852 shares of the company’s stock after selling 264 shares during the quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A’s holdings in Novartis were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NVS. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $112.11 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $229.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.41.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS 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, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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.