Occidental Asset Management LLC Sells 1,133 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Occidental Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 31.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,490 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY raised its position in Novartis by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 7,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 17,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Novartis by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 71,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,220,000 after acquiring an additional 3,821 shares during the period. Finally, FLC Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $251,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NVS. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, December 6th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.33.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NVS traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $96.73. 1,524,700 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,422,256. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $101.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $89.81 and a 52-week high of $108.78. The company has a market cap of $205.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.54.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $3.7772 per share. This is an increase from Novartis’s previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.26%.

About Novartis

Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It 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.