Van ECK Associates Corp Has $21.74 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 215,298 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,811 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $21,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in Novartis by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 11,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 3,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 9,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 8,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Novartis Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE NVS opened at $97.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $198.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.54. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $108.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $3.7772 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.79%.

Novartis Company 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.