Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 117 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lowered its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in Novartis by 480.0% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. grew its position in Novartis by 69.1% during the third quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

Novartis Trading Up 0.9 %

NVS traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.20. 1,220,349 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,535,768. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.93. 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 $200.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 33.84%.

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.