O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 17,917 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 215,445 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,917 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $20,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP raised its position in Novartis by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 6,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NVS. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $112.69 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.13. 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 (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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