Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Sells 1,204 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC cut its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 36,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,204 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Twin City Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Novartis by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. FCA Corp TX grew its position in Novartis by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 24,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,356,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Novartis by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 450,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,811,000 after acquiring an additional 18,630 shares during the period. Mosley Wealth Management grew its position in Novartis by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 2,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NVS opened at $112.11 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.32.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 42.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.