Hemenway Trust Co LLC Trims Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Hemenway Trust Co LLC cut its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 38.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,854 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,335 shares during the period. Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVS. 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 Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 5.8 %

NVS stock opened at $105.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $216.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $109.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.05. 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.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 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.