Mmbg Investment Advisors CO. Lowers Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Mmbg Investment Advisors CO. trimmed its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,492 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,510 shares during the quarter. Mmbg Investment Advisors CO.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:NVS opened at $108.68 on Monday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $110.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.84. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.47%.

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.