Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,674 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of Novartis by 480.0% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 69.1% in the third quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 1.6 %

NVS opened at $97.44 on Monday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $108.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.99. The company has a market cap of $199.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.22 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. Investors 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 is 32.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NVS. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

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.