SVB Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,105 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 516 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of Novartis by 480.0% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $92.57 on Friday. 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. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $108.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $98.22 and its 200 day moving average is $99.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 29.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Three investment 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.33.

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.