International Assets Investment Management LLC Has $15.08 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 6,599.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 149,395 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 147,165 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $15,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 480.0% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 69.1% in the third quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $97.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.19 and a 1-year high of $108.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $97.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.96.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). Novartis had a return on equity of 32.15% and a net margin of 31.33%. The business had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

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

Novartis 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.