HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Sells 423 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 423 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $109.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $223.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.06.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders 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%.

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.