Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 333 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Cannell & Spears LLC decreased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,545 shares of the company’s stock after selling 333 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the third 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 last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,990,000 after acquiring an additional 52,044 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $88,339,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Novartis by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 771,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,090,000 after purchasing an additional 27,092 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $109.49 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $108.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

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 the consensus estimate 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 research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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%.

Novartis 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.