Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 519.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,532 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS opened at $105.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $109.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.05. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $216.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

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.