Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 4,802 Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,802 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $9,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 480.0% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 69.1% during the third quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Price Performance

NYSE:NVS traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,045,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,908,977. 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 AG has a one year low of $92.19 and a one year high of $108.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.00.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 EPS 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 company had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 3.1%. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Novartis from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note 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.