Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $991,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,183,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $796,372,000 after purchasing an additional 90,823 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Novartis by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 368,171 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,522,000 after acquiring an additional 399,862 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,990,000 after acquiring an additional 52,044 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $109.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,061,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,580,242. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $96.06 and a 1 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $109.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.76. The stock has a market cap of $231.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. The business 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 business earned $1.80 earnings per share. Novartis's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's payout ratio is 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.