Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Sold by Crew Capital Management Ltd.

Crew Capital Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Crew Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,568,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 368.3% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 15,927 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 247,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,021,000 after purchasing an additional 58,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Novartis Trading Down 0.4 %

NVS stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $97.09. The stock had a trading volume of 2,144,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,570,082. The firm has a market cap of $198.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.54. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $97.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.99.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. The firm had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

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