Natixis Advisors L.P. Acquires 3,270 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 931,127 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,270 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $94,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Novartis by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth $6,568,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 41,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,162,000 after buying an additional 8,116 shares during the period. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 368.3% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after buying an additional 15,927 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,045,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,559,969. The company has a market capitalization of $198.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $108.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $97.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.96.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share 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 32.15%. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $3.7772 per share. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock.

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.