Choate Investment Advisors Has $3.57 Million Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Choate Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,683 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors' holdings in Novartis were worth $3,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 17.4% in 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Novartis by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,990,000 after purchasing an additional 52,044 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company's stock worth $107,986,000 after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,339,000. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on NVS. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "underweight" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC lowered Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $113.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,885,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,214,786. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $106.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, 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 paid a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.69%.

Novartis 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.