New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC Has $1.06 Million Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,837 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,527 shares during the quarter. Novartis accounts for about 0.6% of New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Novartis by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,142 shares of the company's stock worth $41,176,000 after purchasing an additional 111,066 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 18,894 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company's stock worth $3,001,000 after buying an additional 5,164 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter valued at about $2,674,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on NVS. BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $1.06 on Friday, reaching $112.23. 2,213,607 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,544,101. The company has a market cap of $237.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $109.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $96.06 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.05%.

About Novartis

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.