RD Lewis Holdings Inc. Makes New $816,000 Investment in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 7,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,353,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,669,000 after acquiring an additional 70,314 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 52,044 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at about $88,339,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 780,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,289,000 after acquiring an additional 123,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Novartis Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $112.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $105.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.54. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 (DPR) is presently 42.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.38.

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.