Summit Global Investments Takes $3.52 Million Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,518,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Novartis by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,990,000 after purchasing an additional 52,044 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $88,339,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NVS shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed 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. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 1.0 %

NVS stock opened at $112.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $106.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.48. Novartis AG has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.69%.

Novartis 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.