Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 337,957 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,257 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $32,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 167.6% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,827,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,307 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,049,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,803,000 after acquiring an additional 686,847 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 746,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,661,000 after acquiring an additional 371,590 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis by 1,936.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 387,820 shares of the company's stock worth $39,158,000 after acquiring an additional 368,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,003,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Novartis Stock Performance
Shares of NVS stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.49. 1,284,175 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,565,951. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $108.78. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $97.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.54.
Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.
Novartis Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Novartis's previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis's dividend payout ratio is 32.79%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on NVS
Novartis Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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