Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Position Lifted by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,072 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter worth $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $112.11 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $229.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 42.69%.

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.