Ruggaard & Associates LLC Has $709,000 Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Ruggaard & Associates LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Ruggaard & Associates LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 18,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 10,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO. boosted its stake in Novartis by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 2,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 4,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 519.1% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $105.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $109.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.98. The company has a market cap of $216.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 42.69%.

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.