Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Purchases 4,267 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 151.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,083 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,267 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,990,000 after purchasing an additional 52,044 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,339,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Novartis by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,289,000 after buying an additional 123,077 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on NVS. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research 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. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 1.0 %

NVS stock opened at $112.11 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $106.67 and a 200-day moving average of $107.48. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s 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.