Waldron Private Wealth LLC Grows Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,210 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NVS. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Novartis by 480.0% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Novartis Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NVS opened at $93.19 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $197.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $98.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.12. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 29.90%. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

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

Novartis 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.