Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) Shares Bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 35.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 423,142 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,066 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Novartis were worth $41,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Novartis by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,002,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,908,000 after buying an additional 296,950 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,339,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Novartis by 3.6% in the 4th 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. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Novartis by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 531,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,519 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Novartis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Novartis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Novartis in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $105.79 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novartis AG has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

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

Novartis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio 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.