Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,132,591 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 399,862 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.10% of Novartis worth $207,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 423,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,176,000 after purchasing an additional 111,066 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company's stock worth $8,668,000 after buying an additional 18,894 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company's stock worth $3,001,000 after buying an additional 5,164 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Agate Pass Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $702,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $113.09. 1,190,709 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,559,343. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.98. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $238.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. 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 (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. The firm's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on NVS. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

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.