Intrust Bank NA Grows Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Intrust Bank NA boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,383 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the quarter. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth approximately $6,568,000. Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 41,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,162,000 after acquiring an additional 8,116 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 368.3% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 15,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Novartis by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 247,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,021,000 after buying an additional 58,395 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $97.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 133,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,552,559. The business has a fifty day moving average of $97.81 and a 200 day moving average of $98.98. The company has a market capitalization of $199.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The business had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock.

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.