Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lowered its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 92,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,802 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 13,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 155,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,791,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY raised its position in Novartis by 32.4% during the third quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 26,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,518 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,045,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,908,977. The company has a market cap of $198.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $108.78. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $3.7772 dividend. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

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.