Mission Wealth Management LP Buys 279 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,336 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 279 shares during the quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Novartis were worth $943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $97.49 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $108.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $97.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.97. The stock has a market cap of $199.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NVS shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock.

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.