Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Purchases New Holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Novartis by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 18,894 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 5,164 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 13.7% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Novartis by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 42,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,918,000 after acquiring an additional 11,866 shares in the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Novartis Stock Performance

Novartis stock opened at $111.46 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $107.62 and a 200-day moving average of $107.29. The company has a market capitalization of $227.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.53. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 research analysts predict that Novartis AG will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Novartis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $3.8695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Novartis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.