Zevin Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Zevin Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,637 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,701 shares during the period. Zevin Asset Management LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $9,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,715 shares of the company's stock worth $2,989,000 after purchasing an additional 3,715 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 253,467 shares of the company's stock worth $24,665,000 after purchasing an additional 49,957 shares during the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 6,619 shares of the company's stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 29,938 shares of the company's stock worth $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE NVS traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,174,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,439,731. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $105.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 currently 42.69%.

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.