Freedom Investment Management Inc. Acquires 345 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,461 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated 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 given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 1.0 %

Novartis stock opened at $110.69 on Friday. Novartis AG has a one year low of $94.72 and a one year high of $120.92. 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 stock has a market cap of $226.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $109.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.27.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

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.