Fiduciary Trust Co Sells 698 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Fiduciary Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,330 shares of the company’s stock after selling 698 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Novartis were worth $5,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in Novartis by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Novartis by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 45,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,636,000 after buying an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $727,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NVS stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $99.36. 1,058,365 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,492,265. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.88. The stock has a market cap of $203.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $108.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.07. Novartis had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The firm had revenue of $11.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.50 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $3.7772 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, 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 research 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.