Pathstone Holdings LLC Sells 772 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Pathstone Holdings LLC reduced its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 102,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 772 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $108.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.76. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.