Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,183,855 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 90,823 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.40% of Novartis worth $796,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Novartis Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE NVS traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $111.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,059,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,306,413. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $96.06 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.26. The stock has a market cap of $234.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Equities analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio is 44.05%.

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.