Gitterman Wealth Management LLC Has $323,000 Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Gitterman Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,324 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $109.15 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.68. 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 firm has a market cap of $223.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 42.69%.

Novartis 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.