Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $6.14 Million Stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 19.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,045 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,113 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $6,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Novartis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 1,161,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,990,000 after purchasing an additional 52,044 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $88,339,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 771,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,090,000 after purchasing an additional 27,092 shares during the period. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC cut Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.38.

Novartis Stock Up 1.2 %

NVS opened at $112.69 on Friday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $107.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.19. The firm has a market cap of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last posted 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%. Research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $3.8695 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s payout ratio is presently 42.69%.

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.