Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Novartis AG $NVS

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,719 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,080 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 1,476 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 262.3% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $881,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 16,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,265,000 after buying an additional 3,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth about $243,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $153.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.12. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $97.71 and a 52-week high of $170.46. The firm has a market cap of $323.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $156.77 and its 200 day moving average is $141.20.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Novartis had a return on equity of 40.53% and a net margin of 25.65%.The company 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 posted $1.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Novartis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novartis to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Argus raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.