Parkwood LLC Makes New Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Parkwood LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 117,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,482,000. Novartis comprises approximately 1.3% of Parkwood LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $110.16. The stock had a trading volume of 623,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,668. The company's 50-day moving average price is $109.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.71. The company has a market capitalization of $232.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week 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.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors 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 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.