Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Sage Mountain Advisors LLC

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC cut its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,815 shares of the company’s stock after selling 783 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 13.5% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in Novartis by 2.0% in the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 37,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,304,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 3.5% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 33,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 62.7% during the 3rd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 11,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE NVS opened at $108.77 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.83. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. 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 company has a market cap of $222.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.