Y.D. More Investments Ltd Sells 13,730 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Y.D. More Investments Ltd cut its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 31.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 30,070 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,730 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd’s holdings in Novartis were worth $3,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NVS. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 11,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Vicus Capital increased its position in Novartis by 15.9% in the third quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 3,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in Novartis by 12.8% in the third quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 9,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 1,028 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in Novartis by 20.0% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 8,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NVS traded up $0.37 on Wednesday, hitting $97.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,138,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,565,946. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $97.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.98. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $3.7772 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Novartis Company 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.