Royal Bank of Canada Has $57.48 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 590,722 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,281 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in Novartis were worth $57,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $109,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $88,339,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company's stock worth $207,522,000 after purchasing an additional 399,862 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company's stock worth $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 368,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NVS. BNP Paribas raised Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS stock opened at $112.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $237.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $109.78 and a 200-day moving average of $105.76. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $96.06 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Novartis's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.47%.

About Novartis

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.

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