Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Has $244,000 Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,417 shares of the company’s stock after selling 313 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,539,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,650,000 after acquiring an additional 51,391 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Novartis by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,049,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,803,000 after buying an additional 686,847 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 167.6% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,827,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,125,000 after buying an additional 1,144,307 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,221,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,431,000 after buying an additional 36,269 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 863,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,993,000 after buying an additional 85,075 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $98.39 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. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $108.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.99. The stock has a market cap of $201.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.54.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $3.7772 per share. This represents a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s payout ratio is 33.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Novartis in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.00.

Novartis 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.