SVB Wealth LLC Purchases 516 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

SVB Wealth LLC boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,105 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 33,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,338,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Means Investment CO. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE NVS opened at $92.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.54. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $108.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $98.22 and its 200 day moving average is $99.03.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. The business had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Novartis Company Profile

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.