Xponance Inc. Purchases 131 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,600 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 131 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,950 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,990,000 after purchasing an additional 52,044 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,339,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Novartis by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 771,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,090,000 after buying an additional 27,092 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $112.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $107.92 and a 200-day moving average of $107.26. The firm 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. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.