J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 814 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in Novartis by 480.0% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. grew its position in Novartis by 69.1% during the third quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Novartis in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Three research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.00.

Novartis Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $95.11 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.19 and a 52-week high of $108.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted 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 29.83% and a return on equity of 29.90%. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $3.7772 dividend. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.84%.

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.