Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Purchased by Boston Partners

Boston Partners raised its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 44.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,359 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,320 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Novartis were worth $5,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,339,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,950 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Novartis by 128.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,554,000 after acquiring an additional 296,890 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,063,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. HSBC lowered Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NVS stock opened at $112.11 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $106.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Novartis AG has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.