RWA Wealth Partners LLC Purchases 2,110 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 30.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,060 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,110 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Novartis by 480.0% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 69.1% during the third quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $98.35 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $97.93 and its 200 day moving average is $98.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $201.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.54. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 31.12%. The business had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $3.7772 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

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.