Wealthsource Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Wealthsource Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS – Get Rating) by 35.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,360 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,344 shares during the period. Wealthsource Partners LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DF Dent & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 3.7% during the second quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 8,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $743,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 7,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Novartis from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Novartis from CHF 82 to CHF 84 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.63.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $82.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $181.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $87.67 and its 200 day moving average is $84.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $74.09 and a 52-week high of $94.26.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $3.4694 per share. This represents a yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.29%.

Novartis Profile

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Novartis AG is a holding company, which engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, and Corporate. The Innovative Medicines segment researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells patented pharmaceuticals, and is composed of two business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.