Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,623 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 608 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $1,541,000. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Novartis by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 13,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Novartis by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 46,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its stake in Novartis by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,706,000 after buying an additional 368,171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $103.84 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $108.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 42.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NVS. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.