Clearstead Trust LLC Makes New $51,000 Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $88,339,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 128.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,554,000 after buying an additional 296,890 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter worth about $30,063,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $109.15 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $105.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.68. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $223.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

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.