Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 324,901 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 43,106 shares during the quarter. Novartis accounts for about 0.8% of NewEdge Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $32,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth $28,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Novartis by 118.1% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 301 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HSBC lowered Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.33.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,099,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,620. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.54. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $108.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors 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 yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.26%.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It 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.

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