National Bank of Canada FI Raises Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 141,084 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Novartis were worth $14,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted 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 last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. increased its position in Novartis by 69.1% during the third quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NVS. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $99.62 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $97.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.05. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.19 and a 52-week 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 market cap of $203.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53.

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 issued a $3.7772 dividend. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

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.