National Bank of Canada FI Has $12.54 Million Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,907 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,009 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Novartis were worth $12,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,990,000 after buying an additional 52,044 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,339,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Novartis by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 771,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,090,000 after buying an additional 27,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Novartis by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 531,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,759,000 after buying an additional 16,519 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Down 5.8 %

NYSE:NVS opened at $105.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $216.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $109.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.05. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted 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, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid 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 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.