CFO4Life Group LLC Purchases 379 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

CFO4Life Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,619 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 0.6% in the fourth 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 stake in shares of Novartis by 2.6% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.5% in the fourth 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 period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $108.77 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $222.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NVS. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.