LPL Financial LLC Raises Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 450,219 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,630 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Novartis were worth $43,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NVS. Mosley Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Novartis by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 2,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 531,885 shares of the company's stock worth $51,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,519 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 176.7% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 10,275 shares of the company's stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 6,561 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Novartis by 87.3% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 74,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,286,000 after purchasing an additional 34,895 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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Novartis Price Performance

Shares of Novartis stock traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $109.69. 668,994 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,498,629. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. 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 company has a market cap of $224.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $108.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.06.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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%. Analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 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.