962 Shares in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Purchased by Bfsg LLC

Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 40,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,054,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $358,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Novartis by 77.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Novartis by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 95,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,656,000 after acquiring an additional 12,147 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:NVS traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $98.51. 768,628 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,540,672. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.54. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $108.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $97.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 31.33%. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

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.