Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Holdings Increased by ProVise Management Group LLC

ProVise Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 124,316 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,123 shares during the quarter. Novartis accounts for 1.1% of ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $12,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Team Hewins LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $833,000. TCW Group Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 74,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Novartis by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in Novartis by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 266,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,913,000 after purchasing an additional 31,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Novartis Stock Down 0.6 %

NVS stock traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,177,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,501,111. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $205.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $108.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.66.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.50 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $3.7772 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

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.