OLD National Bancorp IN Sells 569 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

OLD National Bancorp IN trimmed its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,172 shares of the company’s stock after selling 569 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP increased its position in shares of Novartis by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP now owns 8,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $883,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Novartis by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 35,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,581,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its position in Novartis by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 158,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,956,000 after acquiring an additional 3,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,844,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $97.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.19 and a 52-week high of $108.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $97.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.13 EPS 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 issued a $3.7772 dividend. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.