Ethic Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Ethic Inc. trimmed its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 119,673 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,074 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $11,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock opened at $110.20 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.47%.

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.