Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Purchased by Focus Partners Wealth

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 37.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,699 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,062 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Novartis were worth $4,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $109,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth $88,339,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Novartis by 23.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Novartis by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,706,000 after acquiring an additional 368,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded up $1.31 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $112.02. The stock had a trading volume of 442,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,393. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $109.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $236.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.