Quantinno Capital Management LP Raises Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,356 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,966 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Novartis were worth $13,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $1.11 on Friday, hitting $109.57. 1,061,619 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,583,450. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $109.68 and its 200-day moving average price 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 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $231.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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