Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Has $674,000 Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,672 shares of the company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $674,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 118.1% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $93.52 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.54. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $3.7772 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 34.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NVS. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.