Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lessened its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,576,961 shares of the company’s stock after selling 192,677 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Novartis were worth $542,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $110.08 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $225.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $107.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.26.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 42.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.