Smith Moore & CO. Raises Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Smith Moore & CO. raised its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,224 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased 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 worth $401,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 519.1% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 10,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $989,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Novartis by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 36,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Novartis by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 23,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $105.79 on Monday. The firm 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.92.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Novartis 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.