Parallel Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,417 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 496 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NVS. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $112.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.48. 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 cap of $229.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. As a group, analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is 42.69%.

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.