Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Sells 201 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lowered its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 201 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Novartis were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Novartis by 77.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its holdings in Novartis by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Novartis by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 95,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,656,000 after acquiring an additional 12,147 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in Novartis by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Gimbal Financial bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $226,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $97.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,849,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,458. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $108.78. The company has a market capitalization of $198.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $3.7772 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.00.

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.