Federated Hermes Inc. Lowers Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 120,055 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,696 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $12,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 480.0% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Novartis by 69.1% during the third quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Novartis in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.00.

Novartis Stock Up 2.3 %

Novartis stock opened at $97.29 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $97.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $198.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.54. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm 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 an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.84%.

Novartis 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.