Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Schechter Investment Advisors LLC

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,748 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 33,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.6% during the second quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Brady Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.4% during the third quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $95.88 on Thursday. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $89.76 and a 52-week high of $108.78. The stock has a market cap of $203.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.01 and a 200-day moving average of $99.80.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business 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%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.33.

About Novartis

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It 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.