Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Decreases Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management reduced its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 640 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Novartis were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NVS. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Novartis by 21.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the third quarter worth $6,568,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 41,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,162,000 after acquiring an additional 8,116 shares during the period. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Novartis by 368.3% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15,927 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Novartis Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE NVS opened at $100.21 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $204.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.09 and a 200 day moving average of $99.07.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $3.7772 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. Novartis’s payout ratio is 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.