Prospect Financial Group LLC Buys New Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Prospect Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 296,950 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Novartis by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,669,000 after buying an additional 70,314 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,339,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 18.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,289,000 after acquiring an additional 123,077 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novartis Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NVS opened at $111.14 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $227.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a PEG 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.29.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 is 42.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on NVS shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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 issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.