Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 27,642 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 523 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,950 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after buying an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,990,000 after buying an additional 52,044 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,986,000 after buying an additional 26,317 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,339,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $109.15 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $105.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.77. 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 AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

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.