Sapient Capital LLC Takes Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Novartis by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the third quarter worth approximately $6,568,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in Novartis by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC increased its position in Novartis by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 41,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,162,000 after purchasing an additional 8,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Novartis by 368.3% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 15,927 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NVS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock.

Novartis Stock Up 0.5 %

NVS stock opened at $97.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $199.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.02. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.19 and a fifty-two week high of $108.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $3.7772 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.79%.

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.