Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 1,764 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lowered its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,764 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 33,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,338,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Means Investment CO. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $95.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $194.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.99. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 29.90%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Novartis in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.

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.