Apollon Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 157.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,050 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,990 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in Novartis by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 33,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Means Investment CO. Inc. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $99.62 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $108.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $3.7772 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.79%.

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.