Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 442 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Carret Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 442 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $4,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 480.0% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Novartis by 69.1% in the 3rd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.00.

Novartis Stock Up 1.1 %

NVS stock traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $98.35. 2,233,162 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,549,095. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $201.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.99. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $108.78.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $3.7772 per share. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.84%.

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.