FLC Capital Advisors Takes Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

FLC Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Novartis by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,556,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,587,000 after purchasing an additional 240,710 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in Novartis by 3.9% in the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 4,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 42.4% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 3,272 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.5% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 95,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,122 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 22.8% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $96.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,524,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,450,692. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $89.81 and a twelve month high of $108.78. The stock has a market cap of $205.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. Research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $3.7772 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s payout ratio is 34.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 6th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. HSBC cut Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.33.

About Novartis

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.