Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Sells 323 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,292 shares of the company’s stock after selling 323 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 2.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,539,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,650,000 after purchasing an additional 51,391 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 50.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,049,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,803,000 after purchasing an additional 686,847 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 167.6% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,827,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,307 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 3.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,221,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,431,000 after purchasing an additional 36,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Novartis by 10.9% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 863,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,993,000 after purchasing an additional 85,075 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 2.3 %

NVS opened at $97.29 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $198.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.54. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $108.78. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $97.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $11.42 billion during 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given 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 a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s payout ratio is 33.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.00.

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.