National Wealth Management Group LLC Makes New Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 13.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after acquiring an additional 18,990 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after acquiring an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Novartis by 6.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth about $222,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 90.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 45,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,239,000 after purchasing an additional 21,561 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $111.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.10. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $227.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.