GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases New Shares in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 15,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 2,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 44,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,580,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in Novartis by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 1.1 %

NVS stock opened at $98.35 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $201.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.54. 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 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $97.93 and a 200-day moving average of $98.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 31.12% 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $3.7772 per share. This represents a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.00.

Novartis Company Profile

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.