Advisors Capital Management LLC Acquires 295 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,397 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 4.0 %

NYSE NVS opened at $107.54 on Monday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $108.96 and its 200 day moving average is $106.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $219.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

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.