Naviter Wealth LLC Sells 5,873 Shares of Novartis AG $NVS

Naviter Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 37,658 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,873 shares during the period. Novartis accounts for about 0.7% of Naviter Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in Novartis by 77.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,648,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,362,000 after buying an additional 720,860 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $64,563,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Novartis by 85.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,045,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,035,000 after purchasing an additional 480,201 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 52.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 876,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,120,000 after purchasing an additional 303,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 3,309.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,656,000 after purchasing an additional 292,595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $151.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $97.71 and a 1-year high of $170.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $156.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.40.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a net margin of 25.65% and a return on equity of 40.53%. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $4.773 dividend. This represents a yield of 306.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NVS. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Novartis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Novartis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

Novartis Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.