Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,503 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,821 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $7,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $28,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 118.1% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Three 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.33.

Novartis Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE NVS opened at $96.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $205.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $101.76 and a 200 day moving average of $99.77. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $89.81 and a 1 year high of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is 34.26%.

Novartis Profile

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.