Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stake Increased by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6,599.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 149,395 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 147,165 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $15,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 33,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,338,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 3.4% during the third quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Novartis by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 2,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.7% during the third quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 15,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Three 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.33.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock opened at $94.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $199.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.32. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. The business had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $3.7772 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is 34.12%.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It 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.