Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,715 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,715 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 33,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 62.7% during the 3rd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 20,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 6,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novartis by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,986,000 after purchasing an additional 26,317 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

NVS traded down $0.71 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $111.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,174,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,439,731. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.48. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $227.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's payout ratio is presently 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.