Mission Wealth Management LP Raises Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,336 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 279 shares during the quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Novartis were worth $943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Novartis by 480.0% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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 Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $97.49 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $199.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.19 and a 52 week high of $108.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $97.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.97.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio 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.