Crux Wealth Advisors Acquires Shares of 4,132 Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Crux Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $107.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $108.96 and a 200-day moving average of $106.44.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.69%.

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.