Scissortail Wealth Management LLC Takes $735,000 Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Scissortail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $735,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in Novartis by 480.0% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NVS. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.33.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $93.20. 1,914,845 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,559,637. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $98.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.12. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $108.78. The stock has a market cap of $197.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.54.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 29.90%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.84%.

About Novartis

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It 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.