Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. Acquires 332 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,362 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 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 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 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 purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note 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 target price for the company.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $103.14. 400,067 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,535,252. The company has a market capitalization of $210.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $97.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.23.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $3.7772 per share. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

About Novartis

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.