Liberty Wealth Management LLC Buys 296 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Liberty Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,551 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 37,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,304,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 33,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 62.7% in the 3rd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 11,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $108.77 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.83. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. HSBC downgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.