Henry James International Management Inc. Has $2.10 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Henry James International Management Inc. grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 44.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,830 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,404 shares during the quarter. Henry James International Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 480.0% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. grew its stake in Novartis by 69.1% in the 3rd 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 own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $97.27. 1,045,674 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,908,977. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.19 and a 12 month high of $108.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $97.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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

Novartis Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.