KCM Investment Advisors LLC Has $939,000 Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,668,000 after acquiring an additional 18,894 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $239,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,088,000 after buying an additional 18,990 shares during the period. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,674,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Novartis Stock Down 5.8 %

NVS opened at $105.79 on Friday. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $109.02 and its 200 day moving average is $106.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 (DPR) is presently 42.69%.

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.