Delphi Management Inc. MA Increases Stock Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Delphi Management Inc. MA raised its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,309 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Delphi Management Inc. MA’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after purchasing an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted 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 valued at $112,990,000 after buying an additional 52,044 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,339,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 123,077 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NVS. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NVS stock opened at $112.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.54. The stock has a market cap of $229.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 23.56%. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $3.8695 dividend. 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.