American Century Companies Inc. Sells 55,825 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 453,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,825 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $44,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Three research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NVS opened at $111.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.29. 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 one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $227.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

About Novartis

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.