Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 155 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 9.7% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 10,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after buying an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,088,000 after acquiring an additional 18,990 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 15,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Novartis by 17.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 294,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,836,000 after purchasing an additional 42,642 shares during the period. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 14.4% in the third quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Three 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $112.11 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. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $229.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $106.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.41.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend 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.