Addison Advisors LLC Buys 209 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,289 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the quarter. Addison Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 530 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 33,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Means Investment CO. Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.44. 1,562,845 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,827,393. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.99. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $108.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

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.