Wambolt & Associates LLC Has $2.59 Million Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Wambolt & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,578 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,011 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $111.14 on Tuesday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. 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 simple moving average is $106.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.29.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NVS. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research 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. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.