Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC Has $333,000 Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $112.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $106.67 and its 200 day moving average is $107.41. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $229.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.69%.

Novartis 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.