Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 814 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,496,000 after acquiring an additional 14,797 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Three 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.00.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE NVS opened at $95.11 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.99. The company has a market cap of $194.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.54. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 29.90%. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $3.7772 dividend. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.84%.

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.