Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 10,769 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 47.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,088 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,769 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Novartis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 47,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,882,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $725,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 203,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,707,000 after purchasing an additional 4,524 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 18,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,893,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at about $738,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Novartis Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $101.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.07. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $108.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $3.7772 per share. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.79%.

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.