Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Purchased by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,715 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,715 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $2,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 18,894 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Novartis by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Novartis by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 39,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after purchasing an additional 22,998 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 13.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after acquiring an additional 18,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVS has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $109.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $223.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.77. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.18. Novartis had a net margin of 23.56% and a return on equity of 37.24%. Equities analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.69%.

About Novartis

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.