Angeles Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Angeles Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,254 shares of the company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 4.7% in the 4th 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 stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $88,339,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Novartis by 18.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,289,000 after buying an additional 123,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.9 %

NVS stock opened at $111.14 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $227.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.29.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 42.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. 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 raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.