BNP Paribas Financial Markets Raises Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 278.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,978 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,088 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Novartis were worth $9,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $581,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 252.5% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 11,479 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter worth $61,000. Hutner Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 3,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $6,074,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NVS opened at $108.68 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $229.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $110.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.84. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $96.06 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $13.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Novartis’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 is currently 40.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Novartis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.38.

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.