Wells Fargo & Company MN Cuts Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Wells Fargo & Company MN reduced its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,003,548 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,631 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Novartis were worth $202,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in Novartis by 480.0% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $101.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $208.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.19 and a 12-month high of $108.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $97.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.63.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The business had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.50 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NVS. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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 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.