Boston Partners Boosts Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Boston Partners raised its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 44.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 53,359 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,320 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Novartis were worth $5,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Novartis by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after acquiring an additional 70,314 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during 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. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter worth about $88,339,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Novartis by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,289,000 after purchasing an additional 123,077 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NVS opened at $112.11 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.48. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve 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 firm has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

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.