Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New $203,000 Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 47,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,882,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth approximately $725,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Novartis by 2.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 203,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,707,000 after purchasing an additional 4,524 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Novartis by 11.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 18,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,893,000 after buying an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $738,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target for the company.

Novartis Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE NVS opened at $100.21 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $97.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $204.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $108.78.

Novartis Increases Dividend

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

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.