Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by First Financial Bankshares Inc

First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its stake in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 214,585 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,777 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Novartis were worth $20,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the fourth quarter worth $88,339,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 296,890 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,063,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on NVS shares. HSBC lowered shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $112.23 on Wednesday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock has a market cap of $229.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. 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 50-day simple moving average of $105.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.