Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Position Raised by Schechter Investment Advisors LLC

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,748 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its stake in Novartis by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Abundance Wealth Counselors boosted its stake in Novartis by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 11,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 1,936.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 387,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,158,000 after purchasing an additional 368,778 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 0.6 %

NVS stock opened at $95.88 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $89.76 and a 52-week high of $108.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.54.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Novartis had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 29.90%. The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $3.7772 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 34.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.33.

About Novartis

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It 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.