Brokerages Set Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) PT at $123.38

Shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.38.

A number of analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of Novartis stock traded down $1.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $109.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,954,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,501,737. The firm has a market cap of $223.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $108.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.06. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

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Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.69%.

Institutional Trading of Novartis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Novartis by 13.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,088,000 after purchasing an additional 18,990 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 2,218.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company's stock worth $155,669,000 after buying an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Novartis by 6.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,890 shares of the company's stock worth $2,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 156,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,562 shares of the company's stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.