First Financial Bankshares Inc Increases Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 214,585 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $20,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $112.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $229.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced 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 net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

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.