American Century Companies Inc. Has $44.12 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 453,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,825 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $44,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Novartis Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $111.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $227.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $107.62 and its 200-day moving average is $107.29.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.