Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,183,855 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 90,823 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.40% of Novartis worth $796,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVS. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Novartis by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,668,849 shares of the company's stock worth $259,706,000 after buying an additional 368,171 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company's stock worth $194,908,000 after acquiring an additional 296,950 shares during 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 acquiring an additional 52,044 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $88,339,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Novartis by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 771,655 shares of the company's stock worth $75,090,000 after acquiring an additional 27,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Novartis Trading Down 1.2 %

Novartis stock traded down $1.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,803,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,557,842. Novartis AG has a one year low of $96.06 and a one year high of $120.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.36 and a 200-day moving average of $106.23. The stock has a market cap of $224.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's payout ratio is 42.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas upgraded Novartis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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.