Marietta Investment Partners LLC Has $1.73 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,340 shares during the period. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NVS. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $112.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization 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.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.