EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,127 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Novartis by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $109.15 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 stock has a market cap of $223.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.68. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.