Sei Investments Co. Grows Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 531,885 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,519 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.'s holdings in Novartis were worth $51,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,339,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 128.1% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 528,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,554,000 after buying an additional 296,890 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter worth $30,063,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $225,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "underweight" rating for the company. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.38.

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Novartis Price Performance

NVS stock traded up $1.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $111.46. 1,467,063 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,473,854. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.26. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $92.35 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.69%.

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.