Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the eleven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities 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. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.38.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,183,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $796,372,000 after purchasing an additional 90,823 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Novartis by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company's stock worth $259,706,000 after acquiring an additional 368,171 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,132,591 shares of the company's stock worth $207,522,000 after acquiring an additional 399,862 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock worth $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares during the period. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.6% during the first quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 1,258,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,313,000 after purchasing an additional 55,316 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NVS traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $112.23. The company had a trading volume of 2,213,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,544,101. The stock has a market cap of $237.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.10. Novartis has a fifty-two week low of $96.06 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novartis will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's 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.