FORA Capital LLC Purchases New Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 17,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,691,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVS. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Novartis Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE NVS traded down $2.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,750,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,845. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $120.92. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $110.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.81. The stock has a market cap of $225.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Novartis Company 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.