Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Stock Holdings Lifted by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,183,855 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,823 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.40% of Novartis worth $796,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on NVS. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NVS opened at $110.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $109.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $226.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $93.15 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.