Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 549 shares of the company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $53,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NVS. StockNews.com raised 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NVS opened at $111.46 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.29. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research 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. Investors 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 42.69%.

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.