Intrust Bank NA Boosts Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Intrust Bank NA lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,913 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after buying an additional 18,990 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 6.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $779,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,867,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 1.2 %

NVS opened at $112.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.19. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.