Novartis (VTX:NOVN)

Novartis was formed from the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz in 1996. The company, headquartered in Basel, is the 3rd largest pharmaceutical group in the world, the 2nd largest producer of generic drugs and holds 6% of the global vaccine market. The stock is making its debut this week in our portfolio, at the same time as Roche, following our concern for diversification currencies and our resolutions from 2011. Novartis owns many of the qualities we look for in a great dividend payer and the title is listed in CHF on the SMI, which makes it possible to reduce overexposure to the dollar. Nevertheless, the "youth" of the company and its dividend hardly holds up to comparison with the leading names in our portfolio, such as Procter & Gamble Or Johnson & Johnson. Novartis is therefore the equivalent of an excellent hope of a football team, a youngster full of potential that must be kept close at hand and monitored. Our algorithm sets him as a "hold", behind McDonald, but well placed taking into account his relative youth. To date, we have therefore not taken a direct position on Novartis.

The long-term dividend yield is decent at 3%. The company has increased its distributions in recent years at an interesting annual rate of 15,62%. The distribution ratio stands at 45%, which gives Novartis plenty of room to maneuver in the event of a difficult passage. Volatility is also attractive, at 11.91%.