ProVise Management Group LLC Acquires 4,123 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

ProVise Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 124,316 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,123 shares during the quarter. Novartis accounts for 1.1% of ProVise Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $12,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 2,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 38,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,967,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 235,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,946,000 after acquiring an additional 26,946 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 457,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,649,000 after acquiring an additional 3,634 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $1,026,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE NVS traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,177,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,501,111. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.66. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $3.7772 per share. 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 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.