Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 165,442 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,186 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $16,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVS. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 lifted its position 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 lifted its position 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 bought a new stake in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Novartis by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 315,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,287,000 after purchasing an additional 46,232 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novartis Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE NVS opened at $113.35 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.55. Novartis AG has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $231.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $1.98 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVS. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novartis 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.