Moreno Evelyn V Cuts Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Moreno Evelyn V trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 53.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,718 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,798 shares during the period. Novartis comprises 1.7% of Moreno Evelyn V’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Moreno Evelyn V’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in Novartis by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 41,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,162,000 after purchasing an additional 8,116 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 368.3% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 15,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 247,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,021,000 after purchasing an additional 58,395 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock traded down $0.44 on Thursday, hitting $101.52. The company had a trading volume of 454,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,499,368. The firm has a market cap of $207.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.19 and a twelve month high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.50 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.27 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $3.7772 dividend. This represents a dividend 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 payout ratio is 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.