Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Has $547,000 Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 77.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,413 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,355 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Novartis were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 46.9% in 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 in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Novartis by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 95,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,656,000 after buying an additional 12,147 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its position in Novartis by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Gimbal Financial bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 9,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,000 after buying an additional 4,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE NVS traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.19. The stock had a trading volume of 2,714,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,524,720. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.99. The firm has a market cap of $198.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.54. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $108.78.

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

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $3.7772 dividend. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s payout ratio is presently 33.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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