Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 53,028 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,867 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,028 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $10,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $88,339,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 368,171 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Novartis by 128.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,554,000 after purchasing an additional 296,890 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $103.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-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’s 50-day moving average price is $108.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.50.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.