TIAA Trust National Association Has $766,000 Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,875 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Novartis were worth $766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Prospect Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at $225,000. Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 37,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,692,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Novartis by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FCA Corp TX lifted its stake in Novartis by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 24,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,356,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $111.46 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $227.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $107.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

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.