Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance reduced its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,420 shares of the company’s stock after selling 177 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Novartis were worth $345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth $6,568,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Novartis by 368.3% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15,927 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 247,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,021,000 after acquiring an additional 58,395 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Novartis in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.33.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $92.57 on Friday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $108.78. The company has a market capitalization of $196.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $3.7772 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.84%.

About Novartis

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It 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.