First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 562,487 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,752 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Novartis were worth $54,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,706,000 after acquiring an additional 368,171 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 4.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,339,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 771,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,090,000 after buying an additional 27,092 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $111.38 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.23. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $96.06 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.69%.

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.

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