Millstone Evans Group LLC Acquires New Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Novartis by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,668,000 after acquiring an additional 18,894 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Novartis by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,001,000 after acquiring an additional 5,164 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Novartis by 135.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,598,000 after acquiring an additional 22,998 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after acquiring an additional 18,990 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $112.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $229.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $106.67 and its 200 day moving average is $107.48. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NVS shares. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Three equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

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.