Certior Financial Group LLC Buys New Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Certior Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.0% in the fourth 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. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 10,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 2,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 4,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 519.1% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NVS. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 5.8 %

Novartis stock opened at $105.79 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.92. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Novartis Company Profile

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.