Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Buys New Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $792,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $109,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $88,339,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in 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 period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,706,000 after buying an additional 368,171 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $110.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

About Novartis

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.