TD Private Client Wealth LLC Purchases 134 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,580 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 24,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Holderness Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 11,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 52,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,126,000 after purchasing an additional 5,073 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 214,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foresight Global Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Foresight Global Investors Inc. now owns 232,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,612,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NVS shares. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $112.11 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $106.67 and its 200 day moving average is $107.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

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.