FineMark National Bank & Trust Cuts Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

FineMark National Bank & Trust cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 930 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after acquiring an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,990,000 after purchasing an additional 52,044 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,339,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 18.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,289,000 after purchasing an additional 123,077 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Down 0.7 %

NVS stock opened at $110.31 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $107.12 and its 200 day moving average is $107.24. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $225.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on NVS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.