Arvest Bank Trust Division Has $2.18 Million Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Arvest Bank Trust Division lessened its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,379 shares of the company’s stock after selling 867 shares during the quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $427,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,873,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Novartis by 263.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 41,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,762,000 after buying an additional 30,016 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 19,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,221,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 24.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $109.66 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $224.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.38.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is 42.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NVS. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.