FCA Corp TX Raises Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

FCA Corp TX boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,214 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. FCA Corp TX’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 450,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,811,000 after acquiring an additional 18,630 shares in the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management grew its stake in Novartis by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 2,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Novartis by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 531,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,759,000 after buying an additional 16,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in Novartis by 176.7% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 10,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 6,561 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $112.11 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) 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%. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.