AdvisorShares Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 4,360 Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 16,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 4,581 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,522,000 after purchasing an additional 399,862 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Novartis by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 90,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,815,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $113.41 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.13. The company has a market capitalization of $239.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.