Key Financial Inc Increases Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Novartis by 18.3% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,556,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,587,000 after acquiring an additional 240,710 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.9% in the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 4,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 42.4% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.5% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 95,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 22.8% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on NVS. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.33.

Novartis Trading Down 0.1 %

Novartis stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,168,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,492,803. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.61 and a 200-day moving average of $99.12. The stock has a market cap of $197.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15. Novartis AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $3.7772 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.84%.

Novartis Profile

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It 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.