Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Holdings Boosted by Lincoln National Corp

Lincoln National Corp boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,826 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Novartis by 480.0% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 69.1% during the 3rd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS opened at $99.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $203.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $97.16 and its 200-day moving average is $99.05. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $108.78.

Novartis Increases Dividend

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

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.